Possess me
by Ciiah
Summary: They all decieved him, thinking it was the right thing to do. Harry is 15 and bored of life. But then the dreams begin. Dark dreams. Dreams that speak of truth. When he finds out about the lie, what will he do? - Dark!Harry, Vampirism, slash HPLV
1. Prolouge

I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. The characters and the original plot belong to J.k.Rowling.

I do own; the plot of this fic and any character that is not in the books.

**Warnings**; M-rated/X-rated Yaoi (Japanese concept for sex between males), foul language, "**Dark Harry**" (yes, he _will_ be dark), and random ooc-ness.

Pairing; Voldemort/Harry.

(Oh and for the prologue... I know it's not the exact words from the first book, but it's the same idea. I'm sure you understand it any way.)

Prologue.

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_"Oh, a dark boy... Slytherin would be perfect for you lad."_

_"Anything but Slytherin... anything but Slytherin!" _The dark-haired boy chanted and shut his eyes, hoping with every fiber of his body not to be placed in the dark house. Why he wished not to be a Slytherin was beyond him. Perhaps because his newly found friend, Ron, had been placed in Gryffindor. To be left alone on his first day of school was not what he needed right now.

_"Are you sure? You could be great you know... you have all the abilities to become a great wizard, if you were a Slytherin." _the whispering voice made it all sound so great. It was so tempting. So incredibly tempting...

_"Please. Anything but Slytherin," _he repeated, despite the voice in his head, saying_, 'You know you want it.'_

_"No! I don't want it!" _Harry hissed furiously in his mind._ "I'm not like that! I'm not evil."_

_"Who said anything about being evil?"_ The hat sniggered._ "All I said was that you have the ability to be great. Great is not the same thing a evil... but then again, you seem to have abilities for that too-"_

_"Shut up!" _Harry almost screamed out loud._ "Don't place me in Slytherin! Please!"_

_"If you're certain..?"_

_"YES!"_

_"Very well then... GRYFFINDOR!!"_

Ah... relief. He didn't get into Slytherin. He wasn't evil, like that blonde guy... Malfoy. He stumbled to his feet and took a seat by the long Gryffindor table. Random pats on the shoulders and wide grins were shot at him as he tried to respond to them all. Tried to be as polite and friendly as possible. Tried to be the mister nice guy. Harry Potter... the boy who lived.

Harry let his gaze rest on the hat as it laid on its chair, still and silent. The sorting was over, and maybe it had already started to figure out a new song for next years' sorting. But still... Harry could swear the hat smirked at him while the hissing words still echoed inside his head.

_'Great is not the same thing as evil… but then again, you seem to have abilities for that too.'_

Harry shuddered and tore his gaze off of the old, muddy hat._ Stupid hat! _It was as if the hat wanted him to be evil. Well, he wasn't going to be. And being a Slytherin didn't automatically make someone evil. Although it certainly seemed like that. He cast a glance at Draco Malfoy who had now taken a seat by the Slytherin table, a table that seemed to shine from cold elegance. Suddenly Harry almost wished he could join Draco by the silver-green decorated table.Why the hell had he been so damn fast to decline friendship with the blonde?

Harry slowly averted his gaze to the boy in front of him. Ronald Weasley had his mouth stuffed with potatoes and beef, while the girl, Hermione Granger, was looking at the munching redhead with disgust written on her face. They seemed so... boring. There wasn't any better word for it, Harry realized. Ron smiled at him, making small pieces of bread fall from his mouth. Harry smiled back and tried to suppress the small shudder of disgust. He sighed.

He was a Gryffindor now! Proud and brave. The house that had the best reputation. So why... did Harry feel so annoyed? As if he had been displaced? He cast a glance at the hat again.

'Slytherin would be perfect for you lad.'

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Okay, that was the prologue and as I'm sure you understand, Harry has just been sorted into Gryffindor. From then on, the storyline is the same as J.K.Rowling's original plot, with the philosopher's stone and chamber of secrets and all that. When chapter one starts, Harry has just begun his fifth year at Hogwarts and from then on, things will be according to my idea. Okay? Anyone who doesn't get it? Good.

I really enjoy getting reviews. I want to know what you think. So... pretty please?


	2. Chapter 1

I still don't own Harry Potter.

Warnings; Yaoi, foul language, darkness, and random ooc.

A-N; Harry is now in year five. The past four years has been just like in the books, but from now on, things will be a bit different. Say hello to Harry Potter á la Ciiah.

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Chapter one.

"I don't want it."

Harry Potter pulled at his black strands while sighing, boredom written across his scar-decorated face. Potions had never been more boring than this. It seemed that Snape was really planning to make his life a living hell. His glasses were laying by his unmoving hand, for they were covered in some kind of green substance, making it impossible for Harry to see through the lenses.

"Mr. Potter?" The cold voice was unmistakable and Harry knew it was Snape without having to look. But then again... it was Snape's class. "Why are you not working?"

Harry thought about answering, but got stuck in thoughts like, _'Why does he always sound like his jaws are stuck?' _

It was obvious his silence both confused and angered the black-haired teacher. Snape's lip started to twitch as Harry didn't respond.

"Potter?!"

Harry sighed and stood up.

"Yes sir?" He asked, trying to sound as polite as possible, which was hard, since he still hated the man in front of him. The muscles above Snape's jaw pulsated with fury.

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" He sneered and did a quick cleansing spell on Harry's glasses. The Slytherins snickered as they took obvious pleasure in Harry's presumed misery. Ron shot him a pitying look.

Harry sighed heavily and sat down, once again letting his mind wonder away. Life was so boring. And it actually somewhat amused him that Snape thought that detention was Harry's worst problem. I mean, jeez... Harry was the boy who lived, He had Voldemort to think and worry about, not to mention the new, slightly disgusting teacher, Professor Umbridge.

Yes... life certainly was a pain. Everything seemed to bore him. Even Quidditch, that had always been his number one interest, seemed to pale.

If Harry had to be entirely honest with himself, he was bored of everything. The people around him were annoying. They never seemed to get it. Harry was "the boy who lived". He was Harry Potter for crying out loud! How many times had he not saved their asses? How many times had he forced himself to show courage and save the day?

The Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, and then there was the whole thing with Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. He had gained a godfather, sure, but he had also gained a new enemy. And during his fourth year he had to attend an idiotic contest, risking his life several times, and finally facing Voldemort himself! Getting cut in the arm, and watching Cederic Diggory die. Getting attacked by Dementors and almost getting expelled from Hogwarts. And still... people just wouldn't realize that he was right. Hermione always seemed to think she knew what to do, and Ron always wanted to prove himself, almost getting himself killed every time. They were such idiots.

Harry shook his head and snorted. Dispite all that, he still found his life boring. It was like... nothing mattered any more. He had friends, sure... but something was wrong. It felt like they never gave him any kind of satisfaction. Hermione was a nice friend, and sometimes she was like a sister to him, but she was never enough for Harry. There was always something that disturbed him. It was the same way with Ron. He was truly Harry's best friend, but maybe that was because he simply was the best alternative? The red-head was always so... dumb.

Harry was ashamed of himself for thinking such thoughts about his best friends, but he simply couldn't help it! He had felt like that for several months! But then again... maybe he was just stressed and tired from everything that had happened. _'Yes, that must be it.' _Harry thought before packing his stuff and he left the dark classroom that now smelled of rotten eggs and smoke.

"Six o'clock, Mr. Potter!" Snape yelled after him. Harry gave a tired nod and exited the room. Not having the energy to really care. He had to concentrate to be able to suppress a groan as Hermione and Ron suddenly came up on each of his sides.

Hermione grabbed his arm and hissed in his ear, "Did you get detention again? Oh Harry! You have _got_ to stop this!"

Harry gave her a semi-glare, which she responded to with her own, less frightening scowl.

"'This'? What are you saying, Hermione? You think I _want_ detention? Don't be stupid."

Hermione looked slightly offended by this and actually shut up for once. Ron chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, mate. I'll sneak in some candy for you," he said and patted Harry's shoulder, making The boy who lived roll his eyes.

"Oh really? And just how are you going to do that?"

Ron stopped in mid-air and seemed to think hard.

"Oh, um... I'll think of something," Ron said with a careless voice. "I'm sure Fred and George can help me."

"Great," Harry murmured and walked a little faster, making it quite clear that he wanted to be left alone. As usual, his friends didn't get the hint and quickly caught up to him. The annoyance only seemed to increase as the day went on. By the end of the day, Harry was so tired of constantly being surrounded by his friends that it almost felt like a relief to go to his detention.

"See you later," Harry said and gave his friends, what he hoped was, a sad smile. "I'm off to Snape."

Hermione gave him a nod and a warm smile. Ron gave him a wink.

"I'll try to sneak in some Bertie Bott's for you!"

Harry laughed, somewhat stiffly. It wasn't funny. Not really.

"Um, that's not necessary Ron, really. I'll be back in two hours."

Finally alone. Harry pondered over that thought for a while. Since when had it been a relief to be alone? When he was younger, all he wanted was a friend, after years of being bullied in school. When he first met Ron he felt so glad. Harry strongly suspected that Ron was the main reason Harry chose to become a Gryffindor. When Hermione came into the picture, things seemed to get even better. At least she was smart, which was more than you could say about Ron.

Harry had always enjoyed being a Gryffindor, and he had always taken pride in it. After all, his parents were Gryffindors, Dumbledore had been one. And he found the people in Slytherin cruel and unfriendly. He wouldn't want to be a Slytherin, not really. But it happened... that he played the thought. What if he had asked the hat to place him in Slytherin? What would have happened? Would Draco be his best friend? Would Harry be the same nice, gentle boy he was today? He strongly suspected otherwise.

Even though Harry sometimes hated Draco more than words could express, he was undeniably fascinated by the pale boy who had blonde, almost white hair. It was only fascination, not admiration. Draco did and said whatever he wanted. That was something Harry had never been able to do. He could imply things when he spoke and he could come up with sarcastic remarks sometimes, but it was more seldom than often that Harry shut up, locking away his mind, telling no one what he actually thought. Not even Hermione or Ron.

He often thought of the day he got sorted into Gryffindor, and what could've been.

_"Slytherin would be perfect for you lad."_

Harry sighed and entered Snape's classroom. It was darker than usual and smelled of candles, presumably scented with cinnamon and something that resembled old leather. Harry scrunched his nose at the unpleasant smell and took a seat as far from Snape's desk as possible.

"Write this sentence one hundred and fifty times, Mr. Potter. After that you are free to go." Snape hissed from the shadows.

Harry was actually rather startled by the sudden sound; he silently cursed. He could almost hear Snape snigger from the dark corner.

"What sentence, professor?" Harry asked, annoyance clear in his voice. Snape stepped out of the shadows and gave his student a cold look. He grabbed the long stick by the blackboard and slammed it onto the white sentence written on the board.

"_This ... _sentence," he winced and sounded as if he didn't get enough air; He was really angry. Harry squinted and finally saw the tiny words written on the blackboard.

'I must always pay attention to what my teachers say at all times and during all classes.'

Harry couldn't help but to snort. Snape couldn't care less about other classes. Potions was the most important one, according to him. So why try to act as if he actually cared about the other ones? No one really cares. No one. Unless they got something out of it.

Never the less, Harry took his feather and dipped it into the little bowl of black ink and started writing the words that he loathed and meant so little to him. At the same time, it felt good to relax his brain and think of stuff that he wanted to think about. He didn't see the words he wrote any more. He just wrote.

Whispering thoughts that he couldn't stop kept popping up into his mind. Thoughts he didn't like but at the same time made sense. Somewhere in his mind, he agreed with it all.

_"I'm meant for more than this."_

_"No one understands what it's like to be 'the boy who lived.'"_

_"I'm smarter than they think. Why do they always seem to doubt that?"_

_"It's like I'm not Harry in their eyes... I'm just 'the boy who lived', the boy who's going to save their asses."_

_"Nobody ever asked me what I wanted to do. To stop Voldemort is _their_ highest priority, and they use _me_ for it. What if I don't want to stop him?"_

That's when Harry stopped. The last thought had just popped up, by pure accident. By then his face felt cold and sticky, and his back felt sweaty. He swallowed hard and perked his head up. Snape stood in front of him, gazing at Harry with narrowed eyes, as if he suspected Harry had done something wrong.

"Something the matter, Potter?" He asked with a low voice. Harry stiffly shook his head, still shocked by his own thoughts. Snape's eyes darted from Harry's paper to Harry's pale face again.

"Time's up. You are free to go. Now."

Harry nodded and stood up, feeling slightly nauseous from the strange smell. He cast a glimpse at his paper as Snape took it from his hand. His eyes snapped open as he saw the last sentence. It was written with a smaller style... almost italic.

_"You don't know anything yet, Harry Potter. You know nothing."_

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What did they mean, those words? Harry pondered as he stumbled his way to the Gryffindor tower. Shock seemed to make his system slow down, and he had to focus to put his feet down properly. Harry had certainly not meant to write those words. He hadn't written them. And what the hell had he been thinking?! He didn't want to stop Voldemort? What kind of crazy thought was that? Of course he wanted to stop Voldemort! Who wouldn't want to stop the person who tries to kill you every year?

And still, to Harry's huge dismay, the thought teased him... tempted him. He didn't want to think such disturbing thoughts. But he couldn't help but to wonder... what would happen if he suddenly announced that he didn't want to stop Voldemort. What would they say? Dumbledore? Ron and Hermione? Would they still be his friends? He doubted it. Hermione would get hysterical and start screaming at him that he had to save the world... that it was his responsibility. Ron would just look at him with cold eyes, telling him to "piss off."

Harry suddenly snorted. Those things would never happen! He wanted to stop Voldemort... of course he wanted to. Right? Hadn't that been his goal the last four years? Or... had it really been _his_, Harry's goal? Or did he simply do what Dumbledore told him to? In fact, Harry had a choice. He could choose to let Voldemort kill him. Yes... he could. It would actually be the best alternative. What was the purpose of his life? The first eleven years of his life was pure hell. Neglected by his muggle-family, and ignored by the wizard-world, that he had once saved. Only to find out that he was a wizard that had to save the world once again! Basically, he had gone from one hell, to another.

But why did everything seem to bore him? Why did Slytherin still seem oh-so tempting... so daring. Such a thrilling life they must have. The Slytherins. They were basically allowed to be cruel, because they're 'The Slytherins', and everyone kinda expects them to be like that. If Harry was a Slytherin, would he be 'allowed' to pour his emotions over his fellow students? They deserved it in some senses. He was always the one who had all the responsibility and he was always the one who had to keep his cool. He didn't own his life any more. He had never owned it.

These dark thoughts haunted Harry all the way to the Gryffindor common room. And when he got there, he avoided his friends by quickly making his way to the dorm.

He needed to be alone and sighed with relief as he found the room empty of nosy classmates. No Ron, no Neville... no one. Harry undressed and slipped into his huge pajamas, a _generous gift_ from the Dursley's.

What was wrong with him? Why was thinking like this? Why did everything annoy him all the time? It was as if life suddenly made no sense. Up until now, Harry's job had been to gain power to defeat Voldemort. He wasn't allowed to give up. No... he wasn't even allowed to get killed. Nothing satisfied him any more. Even the red and golden curtains around his bed seemed to irritate him. It was all so... good. Yes... Harry was indeed one of "the good guys."

Harry growled and made the lights go out with a quick flick of his wand. The room was dark and the only source of light was the pale moon light. Harry cast a glance at the clock by his bed. Eight thirty... Not even nine yet. Why did he feel so tired? He felt drained. Maybe it was simply the boredom that made his mind want to sleep so that he didn't have to be awake to experience all the boring, tiresome things of life.

Until sleep finally made his eyes drift closed, he really tried to love the golden curtains that now surrounded him and the small lion on his nightstand.

_Warmth surrounded him. Made him feel calm and safe and... content? Yes, that was what it was. This is where he belonged. Harry buried himself further into the wonderful source of heat. _

_"You're meant for more than this, Harry." _

_The hissing, snakelike voice made sense. Harry nodded sleepily and murmured something that he didn't understand himself. A hand came up around his shoulder and hugged him close. _

_"You don't know it yet, Harry. You haven't realized how different you are from your friends." _

_Harry lifted his face and stared at the person in front of him with a confused, almost startled look on his face. _

_"I haven't?" Harry asked and was baffled at how distant his voice sounded. The person shook his head. _

_"That's right. You haven't realized it yet Harry. You haven't realized how dark you really are. Deep inside, you know you're not a Gryffindor."_

_Harry whimpered and buried himself into the warm chest of the person again. The darkness that surrounded them somehow seemed... frightening, yet at the same time it made him feel calm. _

_"No one was supposed to know about that. How did you know what the hat told me?" Harry whispered, feeling slightly exposed, and shy. The person chuckled darkly again._

_"I know everything about you, Harry. I know what you fear, and what you take... pleasure in." _

_It was something in the way that the person let the word slip out. Pleasure... Harry shuddered. His eyes snapped wide open as the hand that had been resting on his shoulders slowly made its way to his lower back, sending almost violent shutters through Harry's spine. The hand didn't stop. And Harry didn't want it to stop. He felt safe after all. It felt good to be with... whoever it was. He knew who it was, yet he didn't. _

_"Don't stop..." Harry murmured and moaned loudly as the hand slipped inside his pants and started to massage him. The sensations made his skin prickle, and he slowly parted his legs, urging the hand to touch him in more intimate places. The man held him closer and chuckled with a deep voice in Harry's ear, making the boy groan with lust. _

_"You're such a good boy..." the man murmured. Harry whimpered and clutched the man's black robes in pure desperation. When the man finally gripped his already dripping erection Harry let out a hoarse yell and bucked his hips wildly. The man stroked the muscle slow and hard, making Harry pant and stutter incoherent things, urging the man to touch him more. As the man lowered his face and nibbled at Harry's neck, before suddenly clamping his sharp teeth into the boy's tender neck, Harry moaned with pure pleasure. The pain seemed to increase his arousal so much, he almost came right then. _

_"Oh god!" He yelled and gave a sobbing moan. It all felt so incredible. So right. His body shook as he continued to thrust his hips into the curled hand as the man licked his neck. _

_"You will realize it in time, Harry. And you will have to accept it... we belong together." _

_Harry nodded furiously. Of course they belonged! It was all so perfect._

_"Yes... yes!" Harry moaned. "I'll accept it... I will!" He panted and kissed the man's fingers as they came up to caress his face. _

_"Such a good boy..."_

_Harry practically screamed with delight, insane pleasure as he finally fell over the edge by a single, hard thrust. Oh the pleasure! Oh the ecstasy! How he adored the man who had given it to him. He smiled and whispered the man's name as he felt himself fade away from the wondrous dream._

_"Tom..." Harry whispered and gave the warm, pale cheek one last caress. "My Lord... Voldemort." _

Harry sat up in his bed, panting heavily from fear, and exhaustion. He stared in disbelieving awe as a dark spot made itself visible on his sheets. With a disgusted frown he peeked under his sheets and made a face as he saw the sticky mess between his legs. _What the hell?_ Since when did he have wet dreams? And what the hell was that dream?! Harry felt both disgusted and satisfied as small shivers still ran through his body from the powerful orgasm. But when he thought about what had caused it, he felt like throwing up.

"Oh my god..." he whispered, and covered his face with his hands in shame. He had had a wet dream about Voldemort giving him a handjob! It was so incredibly ironic, Harry would've laughed out loud if it wasn't so insane. He glanced at his clock between his fingers; four in the morning. He had slept for a long time. Harry quickly examined his bed and curtains and gave a sigh of relief as he realized that he had laid a silencing spell around his bed before he went to sleep. Who knows what kind of sounds he had made?

Harry murmured a cleansing spell towards his groin and sighed as he tried to go back to sleep. It was hard to say the least. The dream didn't want to go away from his mind. Usually, Harry forgot his dreams relatively quickly, but this one seemed to stay with him. As if it wasn't a real dream... as if parts of it were true. Did Voldemort have something to do with it? Maybe he had somehow made Harry dream it?

Dear Lord, why did that thought excite him? He should be repulsed. But he wasn't. Actually he shuddered with some kind of twisted pleasure as he thought of Voldemort's hands on his body. As if some part of his mind actually enjoyed the thought of not being such a "good guy" as they all wanted to think he was.

But when Harry finally smiled at the memory of the oh-so pleasurable dream, that's when he really started to loath himself. He was getting turned on, wasn't he? How disgusting!

_No._ Harry refused to believe it. There was no way in hell that he actually liked the thought of Voldemort doing that to him! No way! But against his will, more scenes from the dream popped into his head.

_"...We belong together."_

Harry growled with annoyance and pulled the blankets to his chin.

"No, we don't!" Harry whispered furiously and forced himself to fall back to sleep, a faint tingle of pleasure still lingering in his body.

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Okay, that was the first chapter. What'd you think? Please review and tell me.


	3. Chapter 2

I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

I do own the plot of this fic and any character that may become involved that is not in the original books written by J.K. Rowling.

Warnings; Yaoi, Dark Harry, random evilness. I tend to make the characters slightly ooc sometimes.

Here's chapter two.

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He hadn't been able to sleep for days. The cause of this insomnia wes the damn images. Disturbing images involving a certain Dark Lord, and they kept popping into his mind whenever he tried to get some kind of rest! It was annoying to say the least. Harry was starting to fall asleep during classes and even Quidditch training!

If Harry had to be completely honest with himself, it wasn't the images themselves that irked him. The images were actually quite enjoyable... in a twisted, kinda sick way!

The thing that bothered him about them was the fact that they just popped up. Harry couldn't control it at all. They came into his mind whenever they felt like it, it seemed. It could happen when he was talking to Ron or Hermione, taking a shower, or trying to pay attention to Snape's lessons that just seemed to bore him more and more.

He had no control what so ever, almost as if...

Harry played with the dark thought against his own will. He loathed himself for not being able to stop thinking about it, and he loathed himself even more for actually feeling _excited_ about the crazy thought!

Because what if... what if it was Voldemort who was somehow sending him these images, these fantasies? Harry bit his lip in a sickening enjoyment as small sparks of pleasure slowly crawled up his spine. He felt just as tainted as ever, being marked on the forehead by the Dark Lord, but this was the first time in his life that he felt like he actually wanted, almost _yearned_, to be more than just 'marked'. He wanted to be more than that.

_...Hot limbs grinding furiously against each other, wet skin sliding easily against wet skin. Darkness surrounding them... Moaning, panting... Desperate cries for more!... _

NO!

Harry gripped his hair in frustration as another perverted, still oh-so pleasurable image came to his mind, entrancing him for two seconds before he snapped back to reality and blushed heavily.

The images were always short and he had difficulty remembering them afterwards; something that both annoyed him and brought him relief. But his body would always tremble a little afterwards and he could feel small, barely noticeable signs of arousal pump through his veins. He refused to believe it though, and kept fighting the images as hard as he could. But it was getting tiresome to try and keep something like that out of his mind, since he didn't even know when they were to show up. And on top of that, even if he _did_ know _when_ they were going to show up, he had no idea how to keep them away.

Harry sighed and entered the large library, enjoying the rare loneliness and almost cheering with joy as he realized that Hermione wasn't there for once. She would without a doubt have seen that there was something wrong with him and immediately tried to make it all right. Hermione was acting more and more like a mother with each passing day. Harry was quickly becoming sick and tired of it. He didn't need a mother. He had survived all his life without a mother. He certainly didn't need a fifteen year-old wannabe-mama to 'take care' of him.

Harry sighed again, this time with guilt. He felt horrible for thinking such harsh thoughts about Hermione, who after all only wanted what was best for him. The only problem was that she thought that _she _knew what was best for Harry. Not Harry himself. That was the part that annoyed him.

And Ron was... Ron. He probably hadn't the slightest idea that something had happened to Harry, more than the fact that Harry couldn't sleep. And the redhead would, in spite of Hermione, just smile a goofy smile, patting Harry's shoulder and giving the good old, "Don't worry, mate."

Harry snorted and picked a book from one of the old shelves. Even Ron bored him these days. He frowned. Maybe he was just being spoiled? Humans are not supposed to have 'fun' all the time, so why did Harry seem to think that it was his friends' fault that he felt unhappy? Did he really think that he stood above everyone else, that he was supposed to have fun twenty four-seven, except for when he was fighting Voldemort?

In some ways, he did deserve to 'have fun'. He had already saved the wizard world several times, risking his own life and going through hell more than once, not to mention spending ten awful years with the despicable muggle family, the Dursley's. Harry mentally sneered at the mere thought of his fat uncle Vernon, with his disgusting mustache, his even fatter cousin Dudley who always seemed to reek of sweat, and his skinny aunt Petunia, who somehow managed to look like a crazy ostrich when she was peeking at her neighbors. Yes... they disgusted him.

Harry started to read the book, and realized what he had picked. He hadn't really paid much attention to what he chose to read, he just wanted peace and quiet. But as Harry saw the book in his hands, he couldn't help but to give a small, barely noticeable smirk.

_'Vampires, demons and other creatures of the dark.'_

No doubt it was used in the lessons of Defense Against Dark Arts, but it still caused a wicked leer to spread over Harry's features before he could stop himself. When he realized he was smiling, and that a strange feeling of wanting to know more about the book's contents was lurking in his chest, he firmly shut the book and put it on the table. He stared at it with an expression resembling fear across his face. Why did the darkness seem to entrance him, to fascinate him? Harry realized that that's what it was; fascination. In a very wrong way!

Not in an I-want-to-know-how-to-defeat-the-darkness-way, but more in an I-want-to-learn-this-stuff-way.

Harry buried his face in his hands as he put his elbows on the table. He groaned, waited for a few seconds then peeked at the book through his fingers. The book smirked at him, daring him to read it. It was a thick book. Probably used by seventh year students.

Harry sighed in defeat and quickly convinced himself that it was solemnly because he wanted to become an auror, and re-opened the book. He immediately started to read with some kind of hunger for something that he had missed his entire life, but someone had kept it away from him. The pictures were moving, sending shudders down Harry's spine as he met a dark-haired vampire's deep gaze. The vampire had a pale, yet handsome face. Small shadows decorated the undersides of those eyes, and a cold, calm smirk adorned his lips, giving the immortal man a grim look. Black strands were hanging down from his tied hair in an almost elegant way. Harry swallowed and licked his lips. The picture entranced him. In his eyes, the vampire was... beautiful.

Harry sent a quick look to the small text beneath the picture and let out a small gasp of surprise.

_Vlad Nathanius Dragulia, son of the feared Vlad Dragulia who is also known as Dracula. 1738 - ? _

Harry's heart was beating hard in his chest as he stared at the words. Excitement, mixed with disgust, and shock stirred within the black-haired boy. The son of Dracula? Dracula had a son? And what did "_1738 - ?" _mean? Maybe... maybe the vampire was still alive out there! Harry felt a sudden urge to laugh with pure joy, but he suddenly realized with a pang of shock what he was doing.

He was enjoying the thought of something as evil as the son of Dracula being alive. He enjoyed the thought.

Harry swallowed, forcing his nauseous feeling down his throat and shut the book with a loud 'thump'. He pushed the book away and rose from his chair, then he exited the library as soon as he could, his heart still hammering in his chest from fear, shock, and a pleasurable feeling of excitement. Harry stopped in front of a window and stared at his dim reflection. He looked just like he always did; black hair, covering most of his head, green, intense eyes and pale skin. Although his eyes seemed a little bit darker than usual. Must be the lack of light.

"Harry!"

Harry flinched and quickly forced a stiff smile onto his lips at the sound of Hermione echoing through the corridor. The brown-haired girl rushed towards him with an excited look on her face. As she reached Harry who had merely waited for her, not meeting her, the look quickly turned into a frown.

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" She exclaimed and shook her head while panting for air. Harry sighed and waited for his friend to catch her breath. She soon did and started to smile. "Harry, you'll never believe what I just heard!"

'Hm? Acting like a normal teenage girl, now are we, Hermione? How interesting...' Harry silently mocked his friend and smiled, urging the girl to keep talking. Hermione grabbed his arm and yanked him towards her so that she could whisper in his ear.

"Cho Chang likes you!"

_Wow... what an anti-climax_, Harry pondered and frowned. Cho Chang? The girl he... liked? She had been the girlfriend of Cedric Diggory, who was now dead. Cho Chang was indeed a very pretty girl. Her Asian features, mixed with a typical Irish accent made the girl seem extremely cute. During Harry's fourth year, her smiles had made a few butterflies fly around in his stomach, because a girl like Cho wasn't a common sight, and she used to give him small glances, even though she was Cedric's girlfriend. Yes... Harry liked Cho, but not nearly as much as he should to make her his girlfriend. That sort of relationship required trust, something that was at least _resembling_ love, and lust.

Harry didn't trust Cho. She had been flirting with Harry even though she was Cedric's girlfriend! How could Harry be sure that she wouldn't flirt with someone else if they got together? Cho was always hanging with those silly, giggling girls from Ravenclaw, probably gossiping and whispering about things they shouldn't. No, Harry didn't trust Cho at all.

Love? Harry snorted. He didn't believe in Love at first sight. Love was something that was developed from something else; hatred, liking, friendship. It took time, and Harry barely knew Cho at all. He didn't love her, he barely even liked her as a friend. She was probably a very nice girl, but Harry didn't know her.

Lust, pure attraction. Cho was very pretty. Not too thin, not too chubby. A perfectly shaped womanly body, with soft curves and gently shaped breasts, but... lust? No.

Harry hated, absolutely _hated_ to admit it, but he had started to doubt his own sexuality. He had started to _look_ at the other students in another way. He had stared at the girls, almost desperately, to see if he could feel some kind of attraction at the sight of them, but it never occurred. He had even tried with Hermione, but the thought somewhat disgusted him, so he stopped.

Then he had started to send the males discrete looks, just to see if maybe he preferred men, no matter how disturbing the thought was. Harry knew that _if_ he was indeed gay, there was nothing he could do about it, and he would just end up hurting himself by denying it. With a slight blush he had glanced at the attractive Dean Thomas, the oh-so perfect Cedric Diggory, and even Draco Malfoy, who was undeniably handsome, despite his cruel manners. Harry couldn't really feel any difference from what he had felt as he looked at the girls. But... deep inside he knew. He had enjoyed watching the boys more.

And even though the thought of perhaps being a homosexual both disgusted him and excited him, he still felt no real attraction towards any of the boys. Harry remembered with a shudder the images that popped into his mind now and then. The feeling he got whenever those images showed up. Was that real attraction?

Harry quickly dismissed the thought as ridiculous, and refused to ponder over it any more. Would Harry Potter, 'the boy who lived', be attracted to Voldemort? Ha! How laughable.

"Is that so?" Harry said, obviously not looking as happy about it as Hermione would have thought. She gave him a stern look.

"Harry, is something the matter?"

Harry mentally sighed. _Here we go again._

Hermione was in her mother-mood again, and now she wouldn't give it up until Harry confessed that something was wrong, and then she wouldn't stop asking him about it until he told her exactly _what_ was wrong and what she might do to help. Not that anything Harry said would make a difference; Hermione seemed to think that everything could be solved by Dumbledore. As if every problem Harry had was like a really bad headache, and Dumbledore was the aspirin.

Harry could feel his chest tighten with anger at the mere thought of his headmaster. Dumbledore hadn't given him so much as a look since the day that Dumbledore came to help him at the Ministry. If it hadn't been for Dumbledore, Harry would've been expelled. Although Harry was grateful, his thankfulness was shadowed by heavy feelings of anger, that were fighting all the harder to get out. One time, Harry had even wanted to hurt Dumbledore, to hit him, curse the old man and his silly name, and spit on him. Such feelings were still lingering in his chest, but Harry refused to acknowledge them.

"No, I'm fine," Harry said, adding a slight smile. "I'm just a bit tired. Listen, Hermione, you're a girl, right?"

Hermione frowned.

"Oh, so you've noticed?" She said sarcastically.

Harry smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Look, since you're girl and everyone knows that you're one of my best friends, could you spread a little rumor for me?"

Hermione stared at Harry.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Harry sighed and leaned his back on the wall.

"Could you make sure that Cho finds out that I'm not interested? Do it in a gentle way though, but make sure she knows."

"But Harry, don't you like her?"

Harry was becoming frustrated. If Harry asked Hermione to make Cho understand that he _didn't_ like her, why did Hermione still seem to believe that he held some kind of emotion towards the Ravenclaw girl? He turned his face away and stared out the window, his gaze falling on some of the trees on the school yard. They were slowly turning yellow and orange.

"No. I don't," he said quietly. Hermione put her hand on his shoulder.

"Harry, don't try and fool me. I know you. I _know_ that you like her." She sounded ridiculously serious, as if she thought that Harry was depressed and gave up on the love of his life. Harry sighed with anger.

"No, Hermione, I don't. You hear me? I don't like Cho Chang any more."

Hermione tsk-ed and gazed at Harry with a look that somewhat disgusted Harry. She looked as if she thought that she knew exactly what he was thinking. Oh yes, Hermione knew everything that went on inside Harry's head, and Harry himself wasn't quite smart enough to deal with it himself. That's what the brown-haired girl was thinking.

"Yes you do-"

"No, I don't!" He sneered and shrugged her hand off of his shoulder, where it left a stinging sensation, as if her mere presence annoyed him. Hermione looked hurt, and almost frightened. Harry couldn't care less. Why did Hermione always have to believe that she knew what was best for him? True, she was older than him, but that didn't mean that she had the right to decide what he was thinking and feeling. That was solemnly Harry's job. He glared at his best friend.

"I. Don't. Like. Cho. Chang."

He walked past Hermione, making sure to brush harshly against her shoulder as he walked, he took two steps and-

_... Gentle, yet harsh hands massaging him, making him gasp and thrash his head in desperation for release. Groans and almost pathetic whimpers escaped his mouth as the hands bring him all the closer to completion. A hot hand caressing his lower back, making him shudder and thrust his hips, urging the hand to touch him more... "More, more!"_

Harry gasped as he was finally thrown back into reality. His face was sweaty and flustered and his body was shivering with anticipation. Harry stared at his feet as he remembered the image with disgusted longing. The image had been long. Longer than any other image that Harry had seen so far, and it had been so _real_. Harry could remember every movement, every slip of that hand around his member, pumping him all the closer to-

"Harry?"

Harry gasped and spun around, facing Hermione, who still looked a bit hurt, but also worried.

"Are you alright, you look as if you're about to faint."

Harry swallowed hard and averted his gaze. The blood rushed in his vein, and his body got hotter with each passing second.

"I-I'm fine. I think I'll go to bed now."

Hermione cast a glance at her watch.

"But it's only seven!"

Harry started to walk, trying his very best to ignore the small tingles of insane pleasure that spread over his skin as the image played in his mind over and over again. He gave a small wave.

"I haven't slept in days, Hermione. I'm really tired."

Hermione didn't answer, and Harry supposed she believed him. No doubt Ron had told her about his difficulties with sleeping lately, and if Harry felt tired that was just to be expected. Although, he didn't feel tired.

Fatigue wasn't the real reason he wanted to be alone. Harry rushed to the Gryffindor tower, gasped the password to the fat lady and ran into the common room. A few students were there, giving him odd looks as he rushed past them without saying hello. He sighed with relief as he found the dorm empty of people and remembered that Ron had said something about helping Neville with some kind of experiment tonight.

Harry threw himself onto his bed, pulled the curtains, yelled a locking spell and a silencing charm, and with growl of arousal he unbuttoned his pants and shoved his hand inside.

"Oh god!" Harry gasped, curled his fist and gave his quivering member a hard stroke. Harry moaned and kneeled on the bed, spreading his thighs wider. He managed to take his shirt off with one hand and enjoyed the sensation of cool air against hot skin. His head was humming with insane pleasure as his hand started to stroke faster. He took his glasses off and threw them onto the mattress, then he brought one hand to his chest and pinched his nipple. Imagining it was... someone else touching him.

_"What did I tell you boy?" _A hoarse voice chuckled inside Harry's head and the boy gasped with shock. His hand froze, still gripping his dripping penis firmly. He stared at the red curtain that surrounded his bed. No one was around. Harry breathed heavily and swallowed. His skin prickled.

"Who are you?" He asked shakily, trying to hide the obvious arousal in his husky voice, even though he knew it was futile. The person who spoke to him knew exactly what he was doing. Probably even what he was thinking. The voice chuckled again, making Harry shudder with frightened pleasure. His hand slowly started to move again, without Harry's permission.

_"You know who I am, boy."_

Harry shut his eyes and lowered his head. He knew who it was. He had known all along, but still he didn't want to believe it! With a sudden gasp of pleasure he allowed new waves of arousal to rush through his body and he finally gave up. It was useless. He couldn't stop himself. Even though he would try to deny the thought, the dark was indeed beautiful.

"A-are you watching this?" Harry asked and suppressed a shudder as his thumb grazed over the slit. The voice only gave a small chuckle.

Harry couldn't help but to smirk. The person was watching. Harry took an even firmer grip on his member and started to pump it furiously, not caring to stifle his lustful moans as they spilled over his lips.

The knowledge that someone was watching him... someone dark... someone that certainly wasn't supposed to make Harry feel like _that_... it aroused Harry more than he would ever admit! The person who was watching him touch himself was presumably the person who had sent him the erotic images. Harry was quite certain that someone sent them to him. They weren't Harry's own imagination. Someone gave them to him, and he accepted them.

Pre-cum started to dribble over Harry's hand as he gave a growl of wanting. His hand on his member wasn't quite enough. He wanted more. He wanted to feel the person's hands on his body as he climaxed, and Harry would scream the person's name over and over again. Harry let images slip into his mind, red eyes... strong hands...

With a gasp, Harry let himself go and watched with dazed fascination as a thick rope of cum spurted from his penis. He twitched and jerked as the orgasm shook his body, making Harry's eyes almost roll into the back of his head from the pleasure of it all. His hand kept on pumping, milking himself to the last drop.

When it was finally over, Harry fell back on his bed, panting and gasping for air. Sparks of sexual pleasure lingered in his nerves, making Harry want more of that insanely good feeling, but he was too tired. His eyes started to slip closed.

_"Don't fight the urges, Harry... You see those images because you want to. Deep inside you know you want to. You know, Harry, that we belong." _

Harry stared up into the roof, heavily panting, and listened to the words. They belonged? He had heard those words before... in that dream. Harry didn't want them to be true, but no matter how much he didn't _want _them to be true, he had a feeling they might be any way. The thought clenched his heart, made him feel cold, and he shuddered.

He glanced towards his groin and did a cleaning spell to get rid of the sticky mess and undressed completely before allowing himself to fall into a semi-sleep. Smiling sadly as he finally admitted to himself that... he enjoyed it. He let his hand graze his chest before he finally fell asleep.

In the darkness, red eyes gleamed as they gazed at the sweaty boy, falling asleep in his bed. They watched with intensity, almost passion, as the boy closed his tired eyes. The man smirked.

_"You'll see Harry. Soon. You'll see."_

tbc.

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End of chapter two. D'you like it? Please review and tell me.

Next chapter; Harry starts to realize that he's not as 'good' as they all want to believe. And maybe he doesn't even _want_ to be. The feeling of becoming darker with each passing day is starting to set in, and Harry enjoys it more than he likes to admit. His friends are starting to realize that something's changed. And so is a certain Severus Snape.


	4. Chapter 3

I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

I do, however, own the plot of this fic and any character who might be involved that is not in the books of JK Rowling.

Warnings; yaoi (rather hardcore), Dark Harry, foul language and random ooc-ness.

Chapter three.

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_I can't believe this is happening... _

Harry stared at the rain stained window as he lay in his bed, refusing to get up, or even move. Ron had left Hogwarts for the weekend, since Charlie had returned to the burrow, and they were going to celebrate his birthday. Harry had declined, even though both Ron and the kind Mrs Weasley had asked him several times to attend the party. Harry just couldn't face them. He couldn't face the kindest family he knew, the family he loved the most. Because Harry wasn't like them any more. And he hated it.

Harry had of course never been one of them. He had always been 'the boy who lived', a celebrity, marked by the Dark Lord himself. But they had always been on the same side... the light. The good guys. The ones who fought for the sake of the innocent. And Harry had actually been the 'main character' of the whole thing. But now?

Just thinking of the Dark Lord caused shivers of pleasure to crawl up his spine. Unwillingly, Harry sighed in delight as he thought of the previous night, before he, for the third time that day, caught himself playing with the thought of touching himself.

Harry whimpered and buried his face in his pillow, averting his gaze from the grey sky. He was so frustrated for several reasons. Harry was disgusted with himself. He was lusting after the very thing he should detest. He was lusting after a _man_. Harry Potter was lusting after Lord Voldemort. It was so ironic Harry would've laughed, if he wasn't so miserable.

"How could this happen?" Harry whispered to himself, feeling the tears burn behind his eyelids. "I'm seriously sick."

He groaned, choked back an angry sob and finally threw his blankets off, revealing his naked body. The cool air made him shiver as he stood up from the bed. He opened his school trunk and grabbed a pair of underwear and quickly slipped them over his lean hips. He then dressed in a large pair of grey sweatpants, a gift from his huge cousin, and a black t-shirt; a birthday gift from Hermione. He ignored his glasses, since he didn't have to study anyways, and yawned as he brought a hand to his head and rubbed his temple a little to sooth the growing headache.

He shivered again and grabbed a black, soft jacket to keep himself warm as he entered the common room. It was empty, save for Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, calmly chatting away and occasionally giggling. Harry greeted them with a small smile, making them giggle again, and he surprised a sigh of annoyance. He then exited the room and headed for the library. There were very few students left at Hogwarts, not only because Harry knew that some of the students had been transferred to other schools, due to Harry's "insanity". But also because it was the first Hogsmeade weekend and almost every student had went to visit the magic little village.

Harry enjoyed loneliness and entered the library. Immediately his gaze fell on the book of _Vampires, Demons and Other Creatures of the Dark _again. Harry swallowed hard and stiffly walked towards the book. It was lying at the very same spot he had left it the day before. It lay on the table, seemingly gleaming in the pale light. The rain was drumming faintly against the window.

Finally Harry's curiosity took over and he sighed in defeat as he sat down and slowly opened the book again. He skipped the pages involving werewolves and different kinds of demons until he got to the chapter describing vampires. Harry could feel his breath quicken in excitement as he once again stared into the handsome face of Dracula's son. He faintly wondered if he was alive somewhere. If so, Harry would almost like to meet him. Harry didn't even bother to curse himself for thinking such dark thoughts; they wouldn't cease to exist just because Harry tried to ignore them.

Harry could feel the corners of his lips slowly crawl upwards and quickly scowled. Damnit... He was smirking again. Harry cleared his throat and tried to look stoic, since he felt like a maniac sitting and smirking to himself. He was really losing his mind, wasn't he? Harry bit back a small chuckle of amusement due to his own thoughts and averted his gaze to the book again. He started to read, hungrily and eagerly to learn more about the fascinating creatures. It was as if he couldn't get enough of them. Harry felt somewhat embarrassed about it. He found himself, more than once, smiling at the dark, moving pictures of vampires. There were female vampires, stunningly beautiful and Harry envied them for their grace and elegance. And of course there were males, who made Harry almost blush. Gorgeous males, coldly smirking at Harry, as their narrowed, dark eyes slowly blinked.

Harry cleared his throat, ignoring his burning blush that adorned his cheeks after staring at pictures of incredibly hot vampires for more than an hour. It wasn't until Harry started to feel a faint, pulsating feeling in his groin that he felt disgusted with himself again. Annoyed he slammed the book shut, retreating to the same state of mind he had been during the morning. Harry sent the book a hateful look that held a faint trace of longing. Then he turned his back to the book and exited the library, having the same feeling you get after writing in a diary; relieved and almost happy. But the feelings were mixed with frustrated feelings of self-loathing.

Deciding he needed air, Harry walked to the huge Quidditch field, not surprised to find it empty. The air was crisp and chilly and Harry took a deep breath, feeling lightheaded and energized. He regretted not bringing his broomstick. It was still raining a little, but Harry enjoyed the cold weather in a new way. He smiled and averted his gaze to the dark grey sky. Was there going to be thunder? Great.

"Harry? What are you doing?" Harry stiffened and turned around, facing a soaking wet Hermione. She stared at him, slightly scowling. "You're going to catch a cold."

Harry rubbed the back of his head, feeling extremely embarrassed about his previous behavior; staring up into the grey sky, smiling like a mad man.

"What are you doing here, Hermione? Aren't you supposed to be in Hogsmeade?" He murmured, trying to force the embarrassed blush to go away. Hermione sighed and gestured to her clothes.

"I was in Hogsmeade, but it started raining, as I'm sure you've noticed, and we all got soaking wet. Most of the students stayed at Hogsmeade though. I came back here because I don't want to get sick. We have a test in potions next week, you know."

Hermione pursed her lips and sniffed a little, obviously already getting too cold. Harry nodded.

"I know. You should get inside, Hermione. You're getting cold." He said while turning his back on her. "I want to stay for a while. The air feels really nice." he turned to the brown-haired girl again. Hermione gave him a stubborn look.

"You're coming with me," said Hermione. "I'm telling you, Harry, you are going to get sick."

Harry could feel his emotions stir again. Hermione was once again acting as if Harry couldn't take care of himself. He gave her an icy glare. Hermione looked slightly taken aback.

"Look, I wanna stay out here. You got a problem with that?"

Hermione stared at Harry and slowly shook her head. She looked almost frightened. And Harry... hated himself. Hated himself for enjoying that look on her face. He felt a strange kind of satisfaction by looking at her face. He was finally getting the respect he wanted, the respect he demanded. Hermione visibly swallowed and took a step back. That's when Harry realized what he was doing. He immediately regretted acting so cold towards Hermione. The girl averted her gaze to the dark green grass.

"You've... changed, Harry," Hermione murmured. "I don't know what it is, but you seem different."

Harry took a step towards the now shivering girl. Hermione looked almost as if she wanted to run away, so Harry didn't walk all the way to her.

"I'm sorry, Hermione... I'm just... really tired. That's all." He knew it was a lame explanation. But what was he supposed to say? A part of him still enjoyed the sight of Hermione, carefully meeting his gaze, while shivering in the cold rain. She gave him a small smile and nodded. Harry could see she was still worried.

"Well... I'm going to go inside. You sure you don't want to come with? I could help you study for the potions test-"

"Hermione..." Harry gave her a semi-glare, making it clear that he didn't want to come with her. Hermione shut up and gave him a nervous smile before running off. Harry sighed, once again feeling ashamed of himself for acting so cold. "What's with me?" He murmured and sat down on a bench.

"Looks to me like you're simply getting sick of her."

Harry jumped and turned around with a pounding heart, facing none other than Draco Malfoy, nonchalantly leaning against the wall. The pale boy smirked a little at Harry and gestured for him to come closer. For reasons Harry didn't want to ponder over, he got up from the bench and walked to Draco, glaring slightly to his archenemy. A small roof prevented the rain from soaking Harry further, and even though he had kind of enjoyed the wet, cold feeling against his skin, it was a relief. His vision was slightly blurry, since he wasn't wearing his glasses. Draco stared at Harry for about two seconds before turning away again. This wiped Harry's glare off of his face. Draco didn't have his usual proud, cocky look on his face. Harry could see it, despite his blurry vision.

Draco looked kinda bored, and relaxed. As if the blonde also enjoyed the solitude.

"About time you realize just what a pain that girl is," the Malfoy said calmly, not even a hint of his usual cruelness in his voice. He was simply stating fact. Harry stared at Draco and almost forgot to defend his friend.

"Don't talk about Hermione like that, you bastard," he murmured and mentally cursed when the comment came out silent and rather uncaring. As if Harry was speaking out of pure loyalty. Or rather as if Harry was speaking out of old habit. Draco seemed to notice this as well, and he snorted amused.

"Don't try to deny it, golden boy," Draco laughed a little and stuck his hand inside his pocket to bring a small box out of it. "It's written all over your face. Every time you hang out with those... _buddies_ of yours, you look kinda... miserable," Draco chuckled slightly.

Harry's eyes went wide as they saw exactly what kind of box Draco was holding.

"Muggle cigarettes?" He asked, bemused that Draco would use something like that. Didn't the Malfoys despise muggles? Draco nodded and brought a long, thin cigarette to his mouth. He lit the end with his wand and inhaled deeply. Harry could see just how much Draco enjoyed it. The blonde's entire body seemed to relax as the smoke invaded his lounges. Draco closed his eyes and let the smoke out through his mouth and nose. It made Harry... almost jealous to watch the blonde smoke with such elegance.

"Yeah, well... It's like my dad says, 'Muggles are scum, but they sure know how to make good cigarettes.'" Draco smirked and took another deep breath from the white stick in his mouth. Harry laughed at the joke, before he slapped his hand over his mouth and stared at the ground. What the hell was wrong with him? He didn't think such a low joke was funny, did he? Still, a dark chuckle fought to escape Harry's throat, and Harry had to bite his lip to prevent the laughter. Draco stared at him.

"I hate to agree with the mudblood, Potter, but you do seem to have... changed."

Harry sighed and gazed at the field again. He felt weird. As if Draco's words actually made him feel content. Harry could feel it also. He had started to change... All of a sudden he enjoyed reading about vampires more than anything, he had erotic fantasies about a certain Dark Lord, and he laughed at a cruel muggle-joke, told by a Slytherin. This was not Harry Potter's usual behavior. But... maybe this was better?

Even though Harry was ashamed of the perverted dreams he had, and the fact that he had secretly begun to hope that they would return the next time he went to bed, Harry didn't really suffer from his new state of mind. In fact... he somewhat enjoyed it. He still fought against it, but somewhere in his mind, he had definitely started to enjoy it.

Harry didn't reply to Draco's comment, and the boys were silent for a few minutes before Harry spoke.

"Your father allows you to smoke?" Harry realized what a childish question it was, but it was too late to do anything about it, and he did want to know. Draco chuckled.

"My father isn't here now, is he?" Draco said smugly and inhaled again, before letting the smoke pour out of his mouth. Harry could smell the strong scent of cigarette smoke, and he almost found it pleasant. He smiled back at Draco before he could stop himself. Draco smirked wider and took out another cigarette and held it out for Harry. Harry stared at it, feeling tempted, but trying to stay rational.

"I-I don't smoke," he murmured, blushing, once again feeling like a child. Draco hummed and pursed his lips; an expression Harry had never seen on Draco before. It made the blonde look almost... cute. Draco didn't take the cigarette back.

"Then, do you want to try?"

Ah, the standard question before one would make the biggest mistake of his life. Harry stared at the cigarette and suddenly a question popped into his mind; "Why not?"

Why shouldn't he get to make his own decisions? He had been through hell, and still people treated him like some kind of tool. And these days Dumbledore wouldn't even look at him. A spark of anger once again heated up Harry's chest and he took the cigarette from Draco and brought it to his mouth. He felt somewhat like a stupid rebel, but it still felt good to make a choice of his own. No one could see him. It was pleasantly... sinful. He was hanging out with Draco Malfoy, a _Slytherin_ and the son of Lucius Malfoy, Voldemort's right hand.

Harry nervously lit the cigarette and inhaled slowly, knowing full well that he would cough if he didn't do it carefully. He managed to get through the first inhale with only a small cough and quickly inhaled again, as he started to feel relaxed. Draco smiled.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

Harry nodded and smirked.

"So where's your little crew, Malfoy? I had the impression that you couldn't leave your dorm without your gorillas being at your side," Harry chuckled a little and Draco glared at him.

"Don't even mention it," the blonde groaned and once again took a breath from his cigarette. "They're in Hogsmeade, probably looking for me. I kinda escaped from them. This is the only way I can be alone for a while."

Harry nodded, still chuckling.

"I know the feeling. What about your girlfriend? What's her name again? Pansy?"

Draco laughed out loud at this and leaned against the wall. Harry stared at the blonde as he caught his breath.

"Pansy..." Draco laughed. Harry found his laughter quite pleasant. It wasn't high and cheerful, like Ron and Hermione's... it was darker, and held some kind of heavy feeling to it. A dry laughter, Harry realized. That's what it was. "Pansy is living in a dream world. She's not my girlfriend, nor is she ever going to be. But she likes to hang around me and touch me in public so that everyone will think I'm hers."

The blonde continued to chuckle at this, as if he found it incredibly amusing and Harry frowned.

"Um... mind me asking, but why do you let her do it? I mean... she's not exactly the prettiest girl in town. You could do better," Harry said, realizing too late what he had said. He blushed a little and tried to hide this fact by taking another deep inhale of the cigarette that started to feel better with each time. Draco stared at Harry for a second before replying.

"Well, actually she helps me without knowing it. I wasn't planning on telling anyone, but since you're obviously the same..." Draco trailed off, seemingly ashamed of what he was going to say. Harry stared at the Slytherin boy. 'The same'? What did Draco mean?

Finally Draco took a deep breath and started to talk.

"You know who Blaise Zabini is, right?" Harry nodded, remembering the good-looking dark boy in Draco's class. "Well... he and I are... kinda... like..." Draco trailed off again, but Harry's pulse began to run. He started to realize what Draco was going to say. He took a shaky inhale from his cigarette, waiting for the blonde to finish. "We're together," Draco finally said, obviously embarrassed. "And if you tell anyone I'll kill you myself," he muttered and turned away from Harry.

Harry stared at Draco.

"You're gay?" He asked, completely shocked. He hadn't noticed... not even once, during the four years of going to the same school as Draco, that the pale boy might be a tad different from himself. Only Harry now realized that they were the same. Draco sighed.

"Does that shock you? Disgust you? I don't even know why I'm telling you this, Potter!" Now he sounded frustrated and even confused. "We're not even friends! I haven't told any of my friends... the only ones who know about me and Blaise are me and Blaise. God... what is with you, Potter?" Draco said, making it sound as if it was all Harry's fault. Strangely enough Harry sighed, and even felt annoyed after hearing Draco say 'we're not friends'. He leaned his back against the wall.

"I won't tell anyone. It's like you said... we're the same."

Silence. A few minutes went on, none of them speaking. Draco had started to smoke a second cigarette and Harry was content just to smell the smoke coming from the blonde.

"Hey Potter... If you find them so annoying, why do you still hang out with Miss mudblood and the weasel?"

Harry didn't even tell Draco to shut up about his friends, but merely sighed.

"I dunno. Why do you hang out with Crabbe and Goyle?"

Draco shrugged and gave a small chuckle.

"We're obviously more alike than I thought, Potter. If you ever feel like ditching your little Gryffindor pals, feel free to pay me a visit." Harry stared at the pale boy as he turned to face Harry and gave a slight smirk. "I'm sure you would enjoy my company a bit more than theirs. As sure as I am that I would enjoy your company a lot more than Crabbe and Goyle's."

Harry scoffed, amused and worried... and confused. Draco's offer seemed great, yet at the same time Harry knew that he shouldn't think it was great because he was a Gryffindor and Gryffindors and Slyhterins were enemies and Harry was supposed to defeat Lord Voldemort, not befriend him and certainly not have erotic fantasies about said dark lord. Harry sighed.

"I should go..." He murmured and turned his back to Draco. "I'll see you around. Thanks for the cigarette." He started to walk, feeling the rain hit his cheeks.

"Don't mention it, and Potter..." Harry turned around and faced Draco. The Slytherin boy smirked. "You look good without glasses."

Harry could feel his cheeks heat up and he quickly turned back, refusing to face Draco any more. He could hear the dark chuckle from the Slytherin as he made his way over the field and into the large castle. He just wanted to sleep now. Sleep and think things over. Just as he was starting to run up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower a strong hand came around his shoulder. Before Harry knew it, he was facing Severus Snape.

The potions master ogled Harry's wet clothes for a second before letting go of Harry's shoulder.

"How are you feeling, Potter?" Snape asked, sounding like a robot. His jaw was as stiff as ever and his black eyes cold and unemotional. It was quite clear that Snape wasn't really concerned about Harry's well being. Harry just shrugged.

"I'm fine sir. Why do you ask?"

Snape gave him a cold look before answering.

"You seem to have... _changed_ over the summer, Potter. Anything I should know about?"

Harry stiffly shook his head and slowly started to back away. Snape followed, until Harry's back finally hit the wall and made him feel somewhat trapped. Snape gave an unpleasant smirk.

"Really now? Then maybe you can explain this?" Snape said and held up a paper that Harry soon recognized. It was the paper that Harry had used during his detention. Harry felt like he was suddenly dipped in ice cold water. At the end of the paper was the small sentence that Harry had prayed Snape wouldn't notice.

_You don't know anything yet, Harry Potter. You know nothing. _

The words seemed to smirk at him, almost mock him. Harry stared at the sentences and shuddered. He hadn't written them himself. Someone else must've...

"I-I... I just wrote them... I don't know why..." Harry stuttered, wanting nothing more than to go to bed, even though it wasn't even afternoon yet. Snape held a tight grip on his shoulder and leaned in, making Harry shudder in disgust about having the man so close.

"Tell me the truth!" Snape hissed in Harry's ear and tried to make eye contact with him, for reasons Harry didn't want to think about.

"I don't know!" Harry winced and tried to yank free but then...

_Ah... the soothing darkness was around them again as Harry clung to the man that caressed his body so gently, yet so harshly it made Harry shake with pleasure. "P-please!" He begged and spread his legs wider as he felt the man thrust his hips against his and Harry moaned. "Please... what?" the man whispered hotly in Harry's ear. Harry whimpered. "F-fuck me..!"_

Harry gasped and slumped against the wall in exhaustion. He hadn't had an erotic image the entire day, and this one was so strong. Harry's body was already pulsating with need, practically ordering Harry to run to his bed and jerk off before he went insane. But unfortunately for him, Snape was still there.

"Potter? What is wrong with you?"

Harry slumped down the wall, praying to all the gods he knew that Snape wouldn't notice his straining arousal and brought his knees up to his chin.

"I-Im fine," he panted and turned his face away. "I'm really tired, sir. I would like to go to bed."

Snape didn't back off, and this somehow triggered something inside of Harry. Suddenly he felt an outrageous anger towards Snape. Irrationally, he felt like he had been betrayed by the black-haired man. And when Harry finally met Snape's gaze, his eyes were filled with hateful anger, making Snape back off a little, looking slightly shocked.

"Potter-"

Harry growled and yanked free from Snape's grasp. He quickly escaped from his potions teacher.

"Don't fucking touch me!" He hissed to the man as he ran passed him, up to the Gryffindor tower. His body was practically shaking with fury, and the arousal was still there, beginning to hurt as it strained to be set free from the layers of clothing. Harry positioned himself on the bed just like the previous day, and pulled the curtains, even though he knew it was unnecessary. Ron wasn't coming home until the next day and the others were still in Hogsmeade.

Harry removed his pants and underwear and started to stroke himself, still feeling angry. Harry didn't understand why though. It was as if it wasn't really _his_ feelings. More like he was feeling someone else's emotions.

_"That scum is not allowed to touch you, Harry," _the voice whispered and Harry immediately moaned with pleasure at knowing that the man was there again, probably watching his every move. He removed his shirt and began caressing his nipples, making them stiffen.

"I... I won't let him... do it again!" Harry panted and bent forward, kneeling on the bed, and burying half of his face into his pillow. His stroking quickened.

_"You are such a good boy."_ the voice chuckled and Harry blushed as he could feel the man's gaze upon him. He turned on his back and spread his legs wide as if inviting the man to participate. A jolt of longing shot through his body, and Harry wasn't sure whether it was his own longing or if it was the man's feeling that went through him. Harry gasped with pleasure and started thrusting his hips against his curled hand.

"I want... you to...ah!" Harry had stopped himself for a few seconds to prevent himself from cumming too fast and tried to catch his breath. He stared out into nothingness, not sure where exactly the man was. "I-I want you to touch me." Harry murmured, feeling both embarrassed and aroused by his own words. The voice gave a sighed chuckle and for a moment, Harry could've sworn he felt a pair of hands grace his hips.

_"There is a way... but it is only possible because of what I am. And it is complicated."_

"But I-" Harry started but was interrupted by the same feeling of invisible hands touching him. He threw his head back and sighed with delight as the hands grazed his inner thighs.

_"I will send Nagini to you. She'll bring you a letter and tell you everything you need to know, but for now... just enjoy this, Harry. It is because of your own imagination that I can perform this illusion. I am not really touching you. But because you want it so bad, I can trick your brain into believing that I do."_

Harry whimpered and thrust his hips, urging the invisible hand to touch him in more intimate places than just his thighs. When the hands wouldn't obey, Harry growled and took a hold of his own member, pumping it furiously, still enjoying the feeling of hands on his thighs as he jerked himself off. Harry started to pant and moan and writhe on the bed as he was completely lost, drunk on his own pleasure. His back arched and he gasped loudly as his thumb grazed the slit and the entire member seemed to quiver from the touch. Harry opened his tightly shut eyes and stared down at himself, blushing madly. He watched in bewilderment as the pre-cum soaked his fingers, making them slippery.

Harry moaned deeply as the hands moved to his chest, gracing his abs and nipples which were already stiff and red. Harry started to see white.

"I'm going to... shit! I-I'm-"

Harry let out a hoarse yell and pumped himself madly as he spilled himself onto the bed. His body stiffened and he was arching off of the bed. The orgasm lasted for almost a minute of maddening pleasure and when it was over, Harry's body was shaking too much for him to move. He had never had such an intense orgasm in his life. He stared at the spot of cum on his covers, too lazy to clean it up right away. He let his damp hands grace his stomach and his chest, simply enjoying the feeling. The hands were gone, but he could still sense the gaze on him.

"Where are you?" Harry asked with a weak voice.

_"I'm here,"_ was the only reply Harry got, and he was content. Suddenly feeling incredibly tired, since he hadn't gotten very much sleep the previous night for obvious reasons, Harry did a quick cleansing spell and crawled under in blankets, soon fast asleep. For the first time in quite a while, 'The boy who lived' fell asleep with a content smile adorning his lips. Sighing tiredly as he snuggled against his pillows, pretending it was something else.

tbc

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

That's the end of the third chapter. Yes, I know... sorry for writing so much about cigarettes, but I just can't help it. I find it extremely sexy to smoke, and I hope you're all okay with it. This was the "Harry starts smoking"-chapter, and from now on, I will only mention it sometimes in the texts. But I actually think it's important to write about how Harry feels when he starts smoking. The rebellious feelings he has and how good it feels to smoke. It's a relevant part of who Harry is becoming. Because I'm sure you've noticed that Harry has changed now. And from now on, he will mostly like his new self.

And yes, I know that Draco is a bit ooc, but I really like him, and I don't like JK Rowling's version of Draco Malfoy (who is a bit pathetic in the books), so I made him a little cooler (according to me).

Next chapter; Harry starts longing for the hands of Voldemort on his body and when the snake Nagini finally shows up, he's really excited. But Harry soon realizes just how difficult it is going to get, and also that Lord Voldemort is more than he appears to be. Luckily for Harry, Draco isn't such a bastard as everyone thinks. And Harry will also get to meet Blaise, who knows more about Harry's destiny than Harry himself.


	5. Chapter 4

I don't own Harry Potter, blah blah... you know the drill.

I do own the plot of this story and any character I might use that is not from the books.

Warnings; Explicit sex-scenes between men (Adult/underaged), some vampiric influences, Dark!Harry.

(sorry for the long wait... school is killing me.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chapter four.

Harry felt nervous. Not to mention bored. Yes, a strange mixture of excitement and boredom. He was excited, because he knew that Nagini was on her way, about to tell him everything he needed and wanted to know. Harry had a lot of questions.

He was bored because Hermione was acting more motherly than ever before and Harry suspected that the brunette had decided to stalk Harry wherever he went. This was getting on his nerves. So much, in fact, that he had even started to use the invisibility cloak to get away from the overly concerned teenage girl. Ron was still being Ron, smiling and joking, and probably completely unaware of Hermione's new stalking hobby. Harry was relieved. Talking to Ron still felt somewhat nice and relaxing. They normally talked about Quidditch and homework and sometimes they told cruel jokes involving a certain black haired potions teacher.

Harry had yet to accept fully that he was changing, even though the thought was beginning to set in, and Harry started to realize that he couldn't really see anything wrong with it. Maybe he was just scared of being different from the people he had loved and depended on for several years. Then again, he didn't feel like living a lie. Hadn't he always felt that there was something missing? Hadn't he always glanced at the Slytherins, envied their elegance and cold grace, and mistaken the envy for hatred?

Still, even though Harry somewhat enjoyed his new state of mind, he didn't just want to succumb to it so quickly. That's why he was anticipating the visit from Nagini. He needed answers, badly.

"Harry!" Harry hissed as an elbow was violently buried in the side of his ribs. He sent a dark glance toward Hermione who was giving him her own, less frightening scowl. "Pay attention to what Professor Snape says. This is actually really interesting."

Harry glared at her before turning his gaze towards the pale teacher at the front. Snape was gesturing and babbling about some kind of potion that you could use to reveal if a person was evil. This caught Harry's attention for some reason, and before he could stop himself he lifted his hand. Snape stopped talking and sent Harry a cold look.

"Yes, Mr Potter?" He drawled. Harry pursed his lips.

"'Evil' is just a state of mind, isn't it? I mean, it's Psychology. How can a potion reveal something that isn't even physical?" Harry couldn't help to add a small snort. Snape pursed his lips and quirked one of his black eyebrows.

"I would like to remind you, Mr. Potter, that I am quite familiar with this subject. Unlike you, a mere student, I do know how this works. You do well not to question me again." Snape's eyes were as cold as they always were, and Harry could see the anger flaming within them. He smirked inwardly, amused at how easy it was to upset the older man.

"I apologize. But please, do explain," Harry said, deliberately copying Snape's formal way of speaking. Snape didn't seem to notice that though, which only brought Harry more amusement. He sent a glance at Draco who smirked back, and turned back to the teacher again. Snape narrowed his eyes and opened a book on his desk, seemingly looking for something.

"You are too simple minded, Potter," he drawled mockingly and Harry immediately felt a spark of annoyance in his chest. "'Evil' is not just a state of mind. Not in our world. I'm not talking about mere humans. I am not even referring to wizards and witches. But there are creatures who know how to disguise themselves as such." Snape started writing on the black board with violent movements.

"I am talking about different kinds of demons, from the level grey to black, since there are over three hundred different species known in this world. This dimension doesn't solemnly belong to humans, even though we are undoubtedly superior. Most demons belong in other dimensions, but that doesn't mean that they are banished to those places. They are here, in our world, sneaking their ways into this dimension as we look away. Do you understand this?"

The students nodded, most of them shifting uncomfortably on their chairs. This was apparently not a popular subject. Demons. Harry swallowed and had to bite his lip to prevent himself from revealing his excitement. He couldn't explain it, but the talk of different dimensions and demons made his head hum, whispering songs echoed.

Snape continued his explanation and Harry snapped out of his semi-dazed state.

"Sometimes, though this is very rare, humans are born with different demonic abilities. There's no other way to find these humans but this potion. Although they are generally allowed to live in this world, sometimes we need to reveal them. But, as I said, humans born with demonic qualities are extremely rare. Still it is necessary for me to teach you this, so pay attention. The potion is ready."

Snape turned to his crimson bowl, from which grey smoke flowed in graceful clouds. The students followed his every movement.

"After the potion is ready, you normally make the suspected person drink it for a more clearly evidential result, but if you need to test several people, you can transform the potion into steam." Snape flicked his wand towards the bowl and mere seconds later large balms of smoke poured from it, filling the classroom with gray, slightly silvery smoke.

Hermione shifted on her chair, looking alarmed, as if she suspected the smoke to be toxic.

"The smoke will not hurt you in any way. And just in case someone in here happens to be born with demonic abilities that person would be forced to reveal his or hers true form. For example, if there was a disguised vampire in here, he or she would have to reveal their fangs, unnatural iris and such."

For some reason, Harry suddenly felt panicked. Ice cold panic seared through his spine, screaming at him to run away from the dangerous smoke. This was totally illogical, since Harry wasn't a demon of any kind. So why did he feel so alarmed? He could feel his eyes widen as the smoke drifted closer to him and Hermione, who was squealing next to him. He swallowed and tried to hold his breath in a last attempt to avoid the smoke from invading his lungs. However, Harry knew he had to breathe sometime and let out his breath in a shaky sigh. He was already surrounded by silvery smoke. Feeling slightly sick, he inhaled slowly, smelling the sweet scent from the smoke. Disgusting. The scent reminded him of cotton candy, which reminded him of his fat cousin Dudley.

Harry closed his eyes, irrationally waiting for something horrible to happen, but it didn't. He inhaled more of the sweet smelling smoke and threw a glance at his hands, as if to see if they maybe had been transformed into paws or if his fingers had become adorned with claws. None of this had happened. Harry's body was still human. He let his tongue slide over his teeth, and with a mixed sting of disappointment and relief he felt his normal, small, human teeth glide against his tongue. He sighed.

The room remained smokey for a few minutes until Snape decided to remove it by flicking his wand again, gathering all the smoke over the crimson bowl and transforming it back to its previous, liquid state. Although, since the students had inhaled quite a lot of grey steam, not even a third of the original amount was gathered in the bowl.

Harry glanced to his hands again, once again feeling slightly annoyed that they were still so... human. They were still pale and soft, with nails that were slightly shorter than average, since he had the habit of gnawing on them when he felt nervous or anxious.

"Harry, is something the matter?" Hermione touched his shoulder and he felt obligated to face the girl. He gave her a small smile and shook his head.

"No, nothing is wrong," he lied. What was he supposed to say? _'Yeah, I was kinda hoping to transform into a demon. That'd be awesome_.'

Hermione stared at him. He quirked an eyebrow at her. There was something with that stare of hers. She looked confused, almost. She cocked her head to the side and squinted, as if she couldn't see Harry's face properly.

"What?" Harry asked, now feeling annoyed. Hermione backed away, still glancing at his face.

"No it's just... your eyes... they look so dark. You know... they have always been so green, but right now they look almost black." Hermione shrugged. "Must be the lack of light in here."

Harry stared at her, wishing he had a mirror. He felt someone's gaze on him and turned to Draco. The Malfoy also cocked his head to the side and pursed his lips. Then he sent Harry a small smirk and turned his back on him, writing something on a small piece of paper. He then turned back to Harry and made the small note fly to him with a flick of his wand.

Harry caught the note, trying to look irritated in case Hermione might've been watching him. He unfolded the paper and read; _Meet me after class, same place._

Harry sent the Slytherin a small glance and nodded shortly, before making the piece of paper burst in flames. Hermione gave him a concerned frown.

"What was that?" She glanced towards Malfoy who only gave her a dark, mocking glance before turning to Blaise on his left. "Did he write something stupid?"

Harry sighed.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, I guess," Harry murmured, trying to sound as if he was annoyed with the Slytherin. "He's just being Malfoy." He gave Hermione a reassuring smile before packing his stuff. The lesson was over. As Hermione obviously attempted to follow him he turned to the brunette and flashed another smile.

"You go and meet up with Ron, 'Mione. I have to go to the Quidditch ground. Angelina told me to meet up with the team. We have to decide some extra practice time. Our first match against Hufflepuff's in just two weeks."

Hermione nodded slowly, looking slightly unsure, but walked away none the less. Harry smirked as she left and started to walk towards the Quidditch field.

Since it was the beginning of October, the air was cold and crisp, and the sun was hidden by thick clouds, making the school bathed in pale light. As Harry came closer to the place where he had met Draco a few days ago, he enjoyed the cold seeping through his clothes, cooling his lukewarm skin. He shuddered in delight.

"Hello there, Golden boy!" Harry turned to face Draco, and was mildly surprised to find Blaise Zabini at the blonde's side. Blaise gazed at Harry with narrowed eyes, as if he had trouble in believing that Harry Potter could actually have a truce with Draco. Harry gave the dark skinned boy a small smirk and joined the Slytherin pair.

"Hey-" Harry ended the greeting with a small yelp as Draco suddenly pulled him forward, grabbing his cheeks and firmly holding his face in front of his own. Harry could feel his cheeks heat up slightly at being so close to the attractive Slytherin's face, not to mention his lips. Even though Harry knew he didn't have feelings for Draco, he still felt flustered at being so close to him. Not to mention the fact that it seemed almost as if Draco was about to give him a kiss.

"Um... what are you doing?" Harry asked embarrassed. Draco didn't answer but stared intensively into Harry's eyes. After a few seconds, Draco smirked triumphantly.

"Aha! I knew it. Take a look, Blaise!" Draco grabbed Blaise's collar and yanked the other boy down to stare into Harry's eyes.

_Okay... this is starting to get weird._ Harry thought and furrowed his eyebrows. Maybe the Slytherins were making fun of him? The thought made Harry clench his teeth and retreat to his protective state; cold-ness.

He placed his hands on Draco's shoulder and gently, but firmly, pushed the Slytherin away. He adjusted his features, narrowed his eyes and took a step back.

"May I ask what you are doing?" He asked, adding annoyance to his voice. Draco blinked and gave him a small grin.

"You did change after all. Who would've thought?" Draco pushed Blaise down on a bench and took a seat on his boyfriend's lap. "You may think you were unaffected by Snape's potion, but you weren't."

Okay, Harry was confused now. He didn't have paws, claws or fangs. He didn't have blue skin, pointy ears or horns. He still looked just like Harry Potter.

Blaise's arms encircled Draco's waist and smirked at Harry.

"What?" Was all Harry managed to say. The Slytherins grinned in unison.

"Your eyes," said Blaise and leaned his cheeks against Draco's arm. "They're darker."

Harry stared at him.

"So? My eyes have been darkening every day for the last couple of weeks. It's nothing new," Harry said, trying to sound calm and certain. Blaise snorted.

"Oh really? Listen, Potter, I've never been a fan of The Boy Who Lived, but even I know about those famous green eyes of yours. Are you aware that they are starting to turn black?"

Harry swallowed and turned his face away.

"So?" God, he hated how he sounded like a defiant child. Blaise chuckled.

"You really have no idea, do you Potter?"

Harry met the Slytherin's gaze. Blaise's eyes were icy blue, in spite of his chocolate colored skin. The words echoed in Harry's head, and he shuddered, feeling like everyone knew something about him that he himself was unaware of. It made him feel slightly paranoid.

_'You don't know anything yet, Harry Potter. You know nothing.' _

Suddenly Harry longed for Nagini to show up more than ever. He wanted, needed, answers so badly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry huffed, trying to sound as if he thought Blaise was dense. Blaise laughed.

"Apparently not."

"Be nice to him, Blaise," Draco said and scowled at Blaise. "Considering the people he hangs around with, who can blame him for not knowing anything?"

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, not at all feeling comforted by Draco's so called support. "Then would you care to explain, since I'm so unaware of everything?" He added a scoff to show just how annoyed he was.

Blaise smiled gently. This surprised Harry and caused his frown to disappear.

"Don't worry. You'll understand everything in time. If you're what I think you are, I don't think I'm the person to tell you about it." Blaise bit his lip. Harry sat down next to the pair.

"But tell me _something_! I really want to know." Harry murmured as he kicked a rock off the ground. Blaise looked at him thoughtfully and sighed.

"Well," he smirked, "Do you feel like there's something missing? You know... as if you're incomplete?"

Harry nodded slowly.

"I guess... sometimes..." Blaise nodded excitedly.

"And do you feel like you are longing for something, only you don't know what it is?"

Harry thought about it. At first he was going to say "yes", but then he reconsidered. Because... Harry knew exactly what he longed for. Knew, even though he didn't want to admit it to anyone just yet. Not even to himself.

He longed for those hands on him again. He longed for those eyes upon him. He longed to see that person, to touch that person, to have that person touch him. He longed for... Voldem-

Harry blushed and turned his head away. Blaise gave a humming sound.

"Oh? You already know what you're longing for?" Harry glanced at Blaise who looked slightly amused, but also impressed. "Makes sense, though. That's probably why your eyes are so dark." Harry didn't quite understand the last comment, but chose to ignore it. "Well, if you're already aware of the object you desire, it won't be long until you receive it."

Blaise grinned again.

"You've been having some vivid dreams?"

At this, Draco smacked his boyfriend's head and huffed.

"That's none of your business, Blaise Zabini!"

Harry couldn't help but to laugh at the bickering. It seemed almost... cute. Blaise muttered an apology and gave Draco a smug smile that seemed to hold certain promises. Harry blushed again and turned his face away, letting the couple continue their silent conversation. But suddenly Harry heard a small paper box being opened and the clicking sound of a wand creating fire. Harry turned back to Draco and watched as the blonde inhaled deeply from the cigarette in his mouth. Suddenly Harry wanted, almost craved, one of his own.

Draco seemed to notice his longing gaze, because he chuckled and threw the box to Harry who looked inside of it. There was one cigarette left.

"You're giving this to me?" He asked, bemused at how decent Draco behaved. The Slytherin boy was actually... nice. Well, sort of. Draco snickered.

"Well, I was the one who talked you into smoking in the first place. It's the least I can do."

Harry smiled and brought the thin, white stick to his mouth and lit the end with his wand. Oh God, he was almost embarrassed at how much relief the cigarette gave him. His whole body seemed to relax as the smoke invaded his lungs. It was only his second time too. Strange.

"Aw, now I didn't get one," Blaise said and gave a teasing pout. Draco smirked.

"S'okay, we can share." and with that Draco inhaled, bent down to Blaise's level and caught his mouth in a smoky kiss. Harry could see, with dazed fascination, as the smoke traveled from Draco's mouth, into Blaise's. Harry snapped his mouth shut as he realized he was gaping and stubbornly ignored the couple's smoking session. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, interrupted only by occasional snickers from the Slytherin couple.

"I have to go to class," Harry murmured and got up from the bench, feeling both stiff and more relaxed than ever. "Catch you later."

Draco and Blaise said goodbye as Harry walked away. He felt strange. Was it the cigarette? Ugh... He was turning into a smoker! Hadn't he always thought that was nasty? Oh well. Maybe it was because of what Blaise had said. It seemed as if everybody knew something about him. As if it had been told in a large meeting, one that Harry had missed, and now they were all laughing behind his back.

He sighed with frustration as he entered the castle and set off to his next lesson; Herbology. Fantastic.

Hermione joined him as he walked through the corridor, she was reading a book.

Without looking away from the book she asked, "Where were you?"

Harry suppressed an annoyed growl.

"Gee, sorry I didn't tell you where I went, _mom_." Harry said sarcastically. "Were you worried?" Hermione gave a snort, but Harry could tell she was hurt. Oddly enough, it didn't disturb him as much as it used to. Suddenly, Hermione started sniffing in the air as if she sensed some strange smell, and then she turned to Harry. She stopped and grabbed his shirt, then she buried her nose against the fabric.

"Hermione, what the-"

"Harry, you smell like cigarette smoke!" Hermione exclaimed, and gave him one of her oh-so motherly looks again. It only fueled Harry's irritation. He yanked away from his Gryffindor comrade and straightened his shirt that Hermione had wrinkled. Then he gave her a cold, calm look, hoping it looked as superior as he tried to make it look. Hermione looked somewhat shocked.

"Listen, I know it may be hard for you to accept, but I am fifteen, you are not my mother, and I have the right to do whatever I want. That okay with you?" Harry received a small nod from the brunette, then he walked off, hoping that she would understand how much he didn't want her to follow him.

For the first time in quite some time, Harry walked to class alone. It actually seemed as if Hermione got the point.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Harry was really starting to get impatiant now. Where was that damn snake? The meeting with Draco and Blaise earlier that day had fueled his need to find out more about himself quite a lot. A frustration, similar to anger, ran through his veins as the blood traveled in his body. Mixing with the impatience.

Harry threw a glance towards the window next to his bed. It was dark outside. The stars were twinkling innocently from the black sky as the half-moon made some of the few clouds that were still floating up there look grey. A loud snore woke Harry from his deep, blank thoughts and he glared at Ron's sleeping form. As usual, the redhead had forgotten to put a silencing charm around his bed. It wasn't an actual rule to do so, but it was considered polite and almost a matter of course. Especially Ronald, who was aware of the fact that he snored, should remember it. Harry grew annoyed as the snoring continued, and even increased in volume. He grabbed his wand from his nightstand and threw a strong silencing charm around Ron's bed, feeling relieved as the room was once again filled with silence.

That is, until Harry heard a weak knocking on the door. Puzzled Harry glanced at his watch. Two in the morning. Who the hell was awake at this hour? Harry quietly slipped out of his bed and went to the door. His skin crawled as he realized that everyone else was sleeping. He was alone.

As quietly as he could manage, he opened the door and stared at the dark stone stairs outside the dorm. No one was there. Harry frowned and couldn't help but to shudder. He jumped and nearly yelled out loud when he suddenly felt something touch his foot. He stared down, trying his best to ignore his racing heartbeats, and was shocked to see a long, gleaming snake slide past his foot and into the dorm room.

"_Nagini_?!" Harry whispered, automatically activating the hissing language, Parseltongue. "_Is that you_?"

The female snake seemed to snicker as she slid up into Harry's empty bed.

_"None other. Were you expecting a visssit from another sssnake perhapss_?"

Harry followed Nagini to his bed and pulled the curtains before casting a silencing charm. Then he excitedly turned to the snake again. That was when he noticed, with a spark of amusement, that a package was tied to Nagini's neck, just below her head. It looked rather silly, and Harry couldn't help but to chuckle. The snake hissed with annoyance.

"_Don't laugh at me, boy! It'sss not that easy being a ssnake. I don't have handss like you humansss." _Nagini showed her fangs and Harry immediately stopped laughing. Angry snakes were not to be toyed with, he realized, and quickly freed Nagini from her burden. He put the package down on the bed next to the snake.

"_You might asss well open it right away, boy. It'ss for you... from my massster." _Nagini whispered and did a waving motion towards the package with her head. "_I'll answer any question you might have afterwardsss."_

Harry swallowed, excitement rising in his chest as he realized that the package was for him, from... _him._

He gripped the package and ripped the paper away, revealing two smaller boxes, one red and one blue, and a letter. The letter was sealed with crimson wax, adorned by a snake-formed stamp. Harry stared at it for a few second, then he started to open it with trembling fingers. He felt nervous. He was holding papers that Voldemort had touched. Almost lovingly, Harry caressed the papers before starting to read.

"Harry Potter.

I know I have told you this before, and I don't usually like to repeat myself, but for you I can make an exception.

You know nothing.

Do not get offended, boy. It is not your fault. People have been lying to you your entire life. As they did to me.

Your beloved Dumbledore is not as pure-hearted as he seems. I am sure he has good intentions though.

But he has been lying to you from day one.

Things are not as they appear. You are not a simple human, Harry. You were meant for more.

It was decided before you were born, and you do well to embrace it, because you cannot live in any other way. You will destroy yourself, living in grief.

To explain all of this in a letter doesn't seem appropriate, so I sent you a two-way mirror. I have the other one. To activate it, you must hold the mirror and speak my name.

Then we can talk properly. I trust you to cast a silencing spell. No one must hear us.

The other package, which is the red one, is a simple gift, from which I think we both can take pleasure. (_Harry could almost hear the dark chuckle as he read this line._)

I hope to hear from you soon. Nagini may be a clever snake, but she is rather slow.

- Lord Voldemort."

Harry shuddered and stared at the name. Touched the dried ink with his fingertip. It was real. Voldemort had sent him a letter! And a two-way mirror!!

Filled with thrilled emotions Harry opened the blue box and took the two-way mirror out. It was a beautiful object. The silver frame was adorned with gleaming green stones. Harry smiled. Shivering with excitement he brought the mirror to his face, kissed the cold glass lightly before whispering;

"Tom Riddle," knowing he was correct to speak that name, because no matter how much Voldemort might hate it; That was the name he was given.

The mirror in his hand started to glow and the cold, dead glass started to flow, as if it was water. Harry stared intensively into the glass, nervously chewing his lower lip. When finally a pair of red eyes became visible, he smirked with satisfaction. It had worked. Making sure that he really had preformed the silencing spell he turned to the glass again. The red eyes stared into his, and a pair of light pink lips smirked at him.

Harry shuddered. It was Voldemort, yet it was something different. Last time Harry had seen the Dark Lord was at the graveyard, where said Dark Lord had tried to kill him. Harry remembered a bald man, pale skin and skinny fingers. The person staring at him through the mirror wasn't like that. The eyes were the same, glowing red, and the face that always held that cold, grim look. But the skin wasn't as pale as it had been at that time. The lips weren't cracked and disgusting. They looked smooth and pinkish. And he had a nose! A real, thin, human nose! Fascinating...

But what really caught Harry's attention was the black mane of hair, gently flowing over the Dark Lord's shoulders. It was combed away from his face, revealing a pair of elegant formed eyebrows.

To put it short; the man staring back at him was hot. Really hot.

Harry couldn't remember how his voice worked any more. He just stared at the man, wanting to fall through the mirror and into the man's arms. His hand hugged the mirror tightly as he licked his lips.

"My Lord," Harry whispered and smiled nervously. A burning longing blossomed in his chest. Voldemort smirked.

"Harry Potter," he said with a dark, hoarse voice that sent shivers up Harry's spine. "We finally get to talk."

Harry's brain started working again. He grinned briefly and settled against the pillows, feeling more comfortable.

"How is this... I mean..." Harry stammered and sought the right words. "Please tell me... what the hell is going on?" He cursed himself for using teenage language at a time like this. Voldemort seemed amused though, as he snickered.

"I hope you have time, Harry. This might take a while."

Harry nodded and frowned with concentration, as if he was trying to focus on a class. Voldemort smirked, lowering his eyelids.

"Would you like to become my mate?"

tbc.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I am _so_ not satisfied with this chapter. --' (But please review any way)

Please bear with me, I'm really tired these days. Sorry for not writing a sex-scene in this chapter, but I mean, come on. Harry has hormones, sure, but not _that_ much.

Right now, I can't seem to get the story to develop the way I want it, and it's so fucking frustrating... oh well. I have some back-up plans though, so things should turn out as dark and hot as I want them too eventually.

(Yea, I know, sorry for rambling about cigarettes again. Can't help it. Sorry, ok?)

Next chapter; Voldemort explains certain things to Harry, and Harry is not sure how to react.


	6. Chapter 5

I don't own Harry Potter.

I own the plot of this fic and any character I might use in it that is not from the books of Harry Potter.

Warnings; Explicit sex-scenes between men (_quite extreme in this chapter, so brace yourselves_). Dark!Harry. Vampirism. (Foul language might get included eventually)

Flashback from chapter 4;

_"I hope you have time, Harry. This might take a while."_

_Harry nodded and frowned with concentration, as if he was trying to focus on a class. Voldemort smirked, lowering his eyelids._

_"Would you like to become my mate?"_

Chapter five

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Harry stared into the mirror, into those intense, red eyes. Voldemort's face remained cold and serious, and somehow it made Harry blush. Hot blood crept into his cheeks as Voldemort's gaze seemed to consume him. Harry swallowed. Dark shadows adorned the under side of the Dark Lord's eyes, giving him a mysterious look. His skin was pale still, but not the same sick paleness as he had had at the graveyard.

But... Mate? What the hell was that?

"Huh?" Harry said, once again cursing himself fro sounding so childish. Voldemort gave a small, barely visible smirk.

"Do you know what a vampire is, Harry?" Voldemort said with a purr in his voice, smirking as he saw the thrilling sparkle in Harry's eyes. The teen nodded. "Good. Do you know how vampirism works?"

Harry hesitated. He had read a lot about vampires lately, so yes, he did.

"I think so..." Harry said. "A vampire is someone who is un-dead. He's dead, but still lives. A vampire needs to drink human blood to get hemoglobin, but also for… physical pleasure," Harry blushed again and lowered his lashes, feeling like a timid girl. "To become a vampire, the vampire must first bite you and then let you drink from his blood, right?" Harry said, hoping that he didn't sound like a kid for putting it so simply.

Voldemort nodded and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"Yes, that is correct, but see, what you just explained only includes muggles." The lord smirked wider. "We're a different story, Harry. A much more complicated one, too, I assure you."

"Explain," said Harry, feeling somewhat dense compared to the Dark Wizard who seemed to radiate knowledge and wisdom.

"For a _wizard_ to become a vampire, you must be born with a special vampiric virus. It must already flow in your veins from birth, then you need to get bitten by a vampire to activate it. This means that you won't have to drink a vampire's blood. The bite is enough to transform you. But it's a rare species, Harry," Voldemort blinked slowly. "Only four or five wizards or witches with the vampiric virus is born during an entire century. Some of them choose to fight the virus, refusing to become what they were meant to be. Most of them succumb though. Willingly." Voldemort smirked wider, causing a shiver to run down Harry's spine. Voldemort continued.

"However, they do not become ordinary vampires. Since they already have magic blood in their veins, they become a mixture, between human and vampire. Not particularly stronger than ordinary vampires; however they do not die from sunlight."

Harry stared at the eyes in the mirror. Everything was so confusing. What was Voldemort trying to say? Was Harry a vampire? How absurd! He didn't have fangs or anything. He didn't even grow fangs after inhaling Snape's disgustingly sweet potion. Voldemort continued his explanation that only seemed to confuse Harry further.

"When such a wizard or witch is born, there is always some kind of sign on their body that reveals the virus. The most common is the color of the eyes." Voldemort smirked. "Fifteen years ago, I was told of a boy, born with bright green eyes. An unnatural color."

Harry swallowed and licked his lips. The excitement he had felt during the past ten minutes was beginning to turn into pure confusion, and a feeling similar to fear. He had longed for Voldemort so much it hurt, but now, when he was finally speaking to the Dark Lord that had haunted his dreams, he felt only confused. Dizzy even.

"Unnatural? Everyone keeps telling me I got them from my mother!"

Voldemort chuckled, once again sending pleasurable shivers down Harry's spine.

"You didn't. The shape of your eyes might be the same, and the color might be similar, but Lily Potter's eyes were not nearly as green as yours. They were a duller green, mixed with grey and brown; a _human_ color," Voldemort almost spat, sounding slightly disgusted. Harry frowned, feeling somewhat offended as Voldemort spoke so disgustfully about his mother.

"Please, do not speak about my mother like that," Harry murmured timidly. Voldemort gave him a cold glance.

"Why shouldn't I? She was planning to lie too. She would never have told you about what you are, Harry. She would never have told you that you were born with a vampiric virus." Volemort scoffed, showing more emotion than ever in those red eyes that seemed even redder now. Was the Dark Lord angry? "Protection, they say. If she had been alive today, she would've forced you to live your life as a simple human, and you would perhaps never get the chance to understand just what was missing!" Voldemort yelled, but kept a straight face. Unlike Harry, who stared wide-eyed at the wizard in the mirror.

"Is that why you killed her?!" Harry yelled back, suddenly remembering, with a hot pang of anger, that he was talking to the very man who had robbed him of his parents! "What the hell do you think you know about me?"

Voldemort gave a dry laugh and closed his eyes.

"I know more about you than you do, that I promise."

Harry glared at the Lord for a couple of seconds before sighing and looking away.

"Then why did you do it?" He asked quietly. "Why did you kill my parents?"

Voldemort stared coldly at him for a minute or two, Harry returned the gaze, refusing to look away. Finally the lord sighed.

"Because I'm a selfish man, Harry."

Harry frowned.

"People who are born with vampiric viruses can never be fully satisfied with their life, unless they share it with someone of the same kind. Unless they get to _mate_ with someone of the same kind. Humans just don't do it. It's like wanting water to drink and getting mud." Voldemort glared, although Harry didn't think it was directed at him. "And as I said, Harry, people like us aren't common. We're not like humans. The virus is not something that the Lady of Death randomly gives to just anyone. She has plans. We're pretty much obligated to figure it all out ourselves, but one thing I am certain of; we have a destined partner." Voldemort stared intensely at Harry before continuing.

"As I'm sure you've realized by now, I was born with the vampiric virus. As were you. For us to be born in the same country in the same century cannot be a coincidence. We belong together. I just could not allow your parents to fill your head with lies. You are mine."

Harry coughed at this, not sure if he should laugh or cry. And still, something in his head told him, almost screamed, that the Dark Lord was right.

"This is crazy." Harry whispered. Stubbornly ignoring just how pleasurable it was for him to hear these words from Voldemort, because somehow, the parts of him that were still human knew that it was wrong! Incredibly wrong! "You're lying, aren't you?" Harry murmured and gripped his hair, trying to calm down.

"Harry. You know I am right. Don't be foolish, boy!"

Harry's eyes snapped open and stared angrily at the Dark Lord, full of disbelief. A faint trace of maddening joy sparkled in his chest, but it was overcome by panic, disbelief and fear.

"That's right! I am a boy! A _boy_! And you're a man!" Harry hissed, completely forgetting that he had already accepted the fact that he was not straight.

"Gender is not important, since we don't breed," Voldemort said darkly and Harry closed his eyes.

"Then... why the hell did you try to kill me?!" Harry asked, feeling slightly panicked.

This was weird. These were words he should love to hear. Hadn't he been longing for Voldemort to touch him? He had touched himself to the Dark Lord's image, for crying out loud! Why was he suddenly acting so cowardly? So childish? So human. Maybe it was because he hadn't had an erotic image in several days. Maybe his body had had the chance to retreat to its normal, oh-so human state again. Harry realized, with a slight sting of panic, that he didn't want that. He kinda missed those erotic images.

Although at the moment he was so outraged with confusion and anger that he would never even consider to admit this to the mad lord! That is, until Voldemort answered his latest question with a dark glare.

"I never tried to kill you."

Harry stared into nothingness. The darkness in the room increased for a couple of seconds as some of the grey clouds hid the moon. Harry blinked.

"You lie."

The red eyes remained unemotional. It fueled Harry's anger.

"No." The cold answer made Harry snap.

"Yes, you do!" Harry yelled, grateful for the strong silencing spell he had preformed. "Don't lie to me, you fucking prick! I've seen it happen in my dreams, I've heard my mother crying out-" Harry stopped to take a shuddering intake of air. "How the hell-? Do you think I'm stupid?"

"At the moment, you certainly act as if you are." Still unemotional. Harry felt as if he was talking to a doll. The red eyes in the mirror almost never blinked or moved. Harry scoffed.

"Then, please," he sneered, "Do explain."

At this Voldemort closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he held his gaze low, as if he was ashamed of himself.

"I came to your house that night... to kill your parents." Harry closed his eyes as well, fighting the angry tears back. "I was outraged. You, the person I had yearned for to be born for so long, was in the hands of those people. I knew that they were going to lie to you. Thinking they did what was best for you, they planned to suffocate every ounce of your true nature. I refused to let that happen. Do you understand this?" Voldemort said those last words with such a gentle, soft voice it made Harry open his damp eyes and meet that red gaze that suddenly seemed to hold so many emotions.

"As I stood by your bed that night, about to take you in my arms, Dumbledore arrived. Being so damn pure of heart," Voldemort scoffed mockingly, "He also thought himself to know what was best for you. He tried to kill me, without so much as thinking about the fact that you were right behind me. I could've avoided the curse, but then you would have died. So I let myself get hit by the curse, unfortunately, one small spark of the Avada Kedavra hit you despite my efforts to keep you alive. So, in the last second, with the last of my strength, I buried a piece of my soul into you, so that you would live on. I was already a vampire at that time. Burying a piece of my soul into you would undoubtedly save your life."

Harry blinked, mouth gaping, utterly shocked at what he was being told. It couldn't be true. Could it? Could Dumbledore really have been that careless?

"B-but... why did Dumbledore tell me-"

"That I tried to kill you? Because he wanted you to hate me. He knows what I am, and he knows what you are," Voldemort closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Everyone thinks that I am only interested in taking over the world of magic, which was indeed my intention from the beginning, but no longer. Dumbledore knows exactly how strong you and I could be if we were together, and he fears it. Vampires are evil creatures, Harry. Dumbledore is not evil. He is one of those who fight the evil. So he has tried to keep you away from me your entire life. "

"But... then what about what happened at the graveyard?" Harry asked, still shocked, clearly remembering an outraged Dark Lord, and enthusiastically trying to kill him in front of a large group of laughing Death Eaters. "It certainly didn't seem as if you were trying to keep me safe that time," Harry murmured, still not trusting Voldemort. Voldemort met his gaze and Harry's breath hitched.

"I must admit... I was... behaving strangely. I had been born again, so to speak, after being body-less for thirteen years, I was high on pleasure at the ability to perform magic on my own again. It was thrilling to be reunited with my Death Eaters again. But I was also angry. Angry at you, for actually believing in those lies everyone kept telling you. Angry at the world for lying to you. I wanted to punish you, Harry. I am sorry."

Voldemort blinked again.

"But I would never kill you."

Harry swallowed and unconsciously touched the scar on his forehead. Voldemort's gaze followed the hand and for a few seconds, the Dark Lord stared almost lovingly at the scar.

"You are mine, Harry. You know this. Deep down, your core is as dark as mine. You take pleasure in what is considered 'wrong', and you yearn to get away from all of those people who want to fool themselves that every day is a new day, filled with sunshine and flowers. There is death everywhere. You know this, and you embrace it. They do not. You know... deep down, that you do not belong to them. You belong with me. You belong to me."

Harry lowered his eyes, sinking back in the pillows, then meeting Voldemort's cold, intensive gaze.

"Is this true?" He whispered. Voldemort smirked.

"It is."

"Then I believe you," said Harry and smirked back. Voldemort blinked slowly. Harry sighed.

"There are some things I don't understand though... um... you... you sent me those..." Harry blushed and looked away. Voldemort chuckled darkly, and Harry noticed with a pang of embarrassment how arousing it was to hear the laughter emit from the Dark Wizard's lips. Sparks of pleasure danced over Harry's skin, and he tried his best not to shudder in front of Voldemort.

"I sent them to you Harry; flashes of my own imagination. Did you enjoy them?"

Harry swallowed and averted his gaze elsewhere.

"I-I suppose. But how did you do it? And why does it feel like you are in here sometimes... touching me..." Harry blushed madly at this and refused to look at the man in the mirror. Voldemort snickered.

"We have always been connected, Harry. But it wasn't until now, that I have my own body, that I can gather the strength to send you images. A piece of my soul is in you, boy. That's why I can communicate with you on such terms. That's why I can make you see those images. That's why I can make you feel like that."

Harry swallowed, trying his best to ignore the stirring in his groin and the quickening of his breath as Voldemort spoke to him with such a dark, sensual voice. It seemed to pull Harry, and the teen couldn't help but to fall into the arousal. Cursing his body's betrayal, Harry licked his lips.

"Do you feel so good, just from hearing my voice, Harry?" Voldemort said, a spark of amusement in his voice, as well as satisfaction. Harry blushed, still refusing to meet the Dark Lord's gaze. Voldemort snickered again, increasing Harry's erection so that it now strained against Harry's pajamas. Harry swallowed, and tried to control his breathing.

"Well, I haven't sent you any images in a couple of days. Your body is probably missing it," Voldemort whispered, "No wonder you are so excited just from this."

"S-stop it," Harry panted, absolutely shocked at how aroused he was. Good God, he was just listening to Voldemort's voice, and got a hard-on? Was it just his hormones?

"I believe it's time for gift number two. Open the red box, Harry," Voldemort purred and Harry swallowed, reaching for the crimson box with trembling fingers.

Harry sat up a bit, shifting uncomfortably as the erection was pressed against the rough fabric of his pajamas. He opened the box with one hand, took the gift out and stared at it as his cheeks took an even redder shade. He couldn't believe it and yet there it was. Harry didn't even know what to call it. He had never used one. It was a bendable stick with small, black balls, almost like marbles, in a row on it. Harry's breath hitched. Even though he had never seen one, and even though he was unsure how to use it, he was quite certain it was for sexual use. That much he understood.

He took it in his hand, refusing to acknowledge the increasing heat in his groin, and turned to Voldemort who was now smirking like a mad man.

"What the hell is this?" Harry asked, trying to sound normal and at the same time annoyed, which was hard, since his voice was husky and darker than normal. Voldemort chuckled.

"Anal beads."

At this Harry immediately wished he hadn't asked, because hearing Voldemort actually say the name of the strange object made it all the harder to keep his breathing even. He put it down on the mattress and sent Voldemort a dark look.

"I-I know that!" Not really. "But why are you giving this to me?"

Once again, an extremely stupid question. Voldemort quirked an eyebrow.

"I thought that was rather obvious. Would you like me to explain-"

"No!" Harry blushed and hid his eyes with his free hand. The other hand clutched the mirror tightly. "Don't say anything!"

Silence for a few seconds. The warm sensation in Harry's groin did not go away, and the urge to reach down and touch himself was getting stronger. He swallowed.

"But you are aroused, aren't you?" Voldemort's dark voice sent even more shudders through Harry who had to bite his lip to prevent himself from whimpering as he could feel his member swell, filling with blood. Voldemort snickered and Harry cast a glance at the mirror, silently begging for... something! Did he want Voldemort to shut up, or did he want to hear more? Harry wasn't sure.

"Please use it," Voldemort said, voice dark and slightly husky, as it always was, Harry realized and almost moaned. But he stubbornly turned his head away.

"Hell no!" He muttered. "I can't do that in front of someone else!"

Voldemort snickered again.

"But you really should. Your body is getting impatient. You're growing up Harry, and even though Dumbledore has tried to fool you your entire life, your body still knows exactly what it wants. Maybe you've noticed a certain change in your appearance? Your eyes, maybe?"

Harry turned to look at Voldemort. He nodded, glaring slightly. Voldemort smirked.

"It is simply because your body is unsatisfied. It yearns for more. You won't be satisfied just by touching yourself any more." Harry blushed even more. "Trust me when I say you will feel a lot better if you use my gift. I will talk you through it."

"That won't be necessary!" Harry snapped and threw the sex toy a nervous glance. Maybe he should… Voldemort gave a hoarse snigger.

"But I want to."

Harry couldn't help but to give a slight whimper at hearing this and squinted. His body grew hotter by each passing second. He didn't want to do something so kinky... so dirty, and yet at the same time he wanted to try. His body was honestly starting to feel really hot. Painfully so. And he hadn't felt any kind of arousal during the past couple of days, which made the warm, tingeling feeling seem so much... _hotter_ than ususal.

So finally, he slowly turned to Voldemort and gave the Dark Lord a timid look, with lowered lashes.

"Tell me what to do."

Voldemort smirked and actually licked his lips, which caused Harry's already stiff member to stir against his pants. Harry groaned and took the pants off. When he was finally free from the pants, he decided to take off the entire pajamas. His body felt so warm. He was melting against his sheets. With red cheeks he glanced towards his groin, where his stiff member stood proudly against his stomach, red and arching. He then met Voldemort's red eyes, and a wave of wanting came over him, making him moan involuntarily.

"Show it to me, Harry," Voldemort whispered and Harry, blushing madly, directed the mirror towards his groin, letting Voldemort see exactly how turned on he was. Even more so than usual because now the Dark Lord was actually watching. He had been before too, but this time it felt so real, as if Voldemort was right next to him, and it aroused Harry more than he would ever admit.

"Touch yourself," came a dark voice from the mirror, and Harry, already too aroused to protest any more, let his hand travel over his chest and stomach, until it finally reached his erection that screamed for attention. He moaned loudly as his fingers wrapped around the shaft that started to form a small puddle of pre-cum at the tip. Harry took a firm grip and stroked himself, up and down, in a soft rhythm that sent spasms of pleasure throughout his body. He spread his legs wider. It wasn't enough.

With a small whimper, Harry started to stroke himself faster, causing more pre-cum to gather at the tip and slowly dribble over his stiff member.

"Hah!" Harry gasped and his breathing quickened into panting. God, he was so hot! His body was on fire. It still wasn't enough! The hand on his member wasn't enough. His hips started to undulate without his permission, but since it increased the pleasure, he let his hips do whatever they wanted. His body jerked as small shocks of pleasure coursed though him, making him close his eyes in bliss.

And yet it wasn't enough! Harry grunted, irritated at only having one hand to please himself with, as he had to hold on to the mirror with the other. He could've touched his nipples if he had had both hands free. Then he heard Voldemort chuckle.

"Harry, just cast a locking spell at the mirror and you won't have to hold it."

Harry paused, already feeling rather exhausted, and panted out a locking spell at the mirror. Then he placed the mirror by his pillow, so that Voldemort could see his body, and so that he would be able to hear what Voldemort told him to do. He now pinched his nipple, causing it to stiffen almost painfully, and moaned deep in his throat at the increased pleasure. What was it with pain that seemed to fuel Harry's arousal?

"Take the beads, Harry," Voldemort whispered, and Harry obeyed, abandoning his nipple. "Now lick the beads. Get them wet."

Harry did. He licked every one of those black balls until they were glistening. He noticed that they were increasing slightly in size in the end. After a little while, they were thoroughly soaked in Harry's saliva and Harry was now painfully hard, whimpering and grunting, as he noticed once again that the hand on his member simply wasn't enough to get him off!

"Now... spread your legs wider," Harry obeyed, and spread them as far as he could, knees up in the air, "and try to touch yourself. Insert a finger."

Harry swallowed and slowly, while still stroking himself lazily, let his hand slide towards his bottom. He did it from behind, realizing it was easier that way, and with trembling fingers, caressed the sensitive, slightly quivering opening. He let one finger slip in, amazed at how good it felt to press something trough the tight opening. Sparks of pleasure sot up from the area and he moaned, let the finger slip in further. He wiggled around for a little while, enjoying how much pleasure it gave him and was about to insert a second finger when Voldemort stopped him.

"Not yet. You mustn't do it all at once. Take it slow. It will leave more pleasure to come. Take your finger out now."

Harry whimpered as that strange, but pleasurable feeling of fullness left him as the finger slid out. He noticed that the muscles around the opening were quivering, yearning for something.

"W-what now?" Harry panted, entirely too aroused to feel ashamed at how desperate he sounded. Voldemort chuckled again, and Harry couldn't help but to buck his hips.

"Insert the beads now."

Harry swallowed nervously and picked the sex toy up, licked the beads some more to get them wet again, and brought them between his legs.

"I can't do this." he murmured, and teased his shuddering opening with the first bead. "It feels weird."

"It will feel good."

Harry closed his eyes and let the first bead slip through. He gasped and snapped his eyes open, before closing them again as small tingles spread over his skin, making him want to scream. He let the second bead slip through and the same feeling came over him. Stroking himself even faster, he peered through heavy lidded eyes at the erotic scene between his legs. The third bead went in, and Harry panted harder, feeling the pre-cum dribble over his fingers.

"That's good, Harry. You're such a good boy," Voldemort purred darkly, making Harry groan and thrash his head.

"My lord..." Harry whispered. The fourth bead went in, and it was slightly bigger than the previous ones. Harry gasped and arched his back. He could feel the beads inside him, massaging his inner walls, creating a pressure inside... one that made him want to weep with pleasure. "It feels so... good... so good!" Harry chanted, eyes tightly closed. Another wave of maddening, hot pleasure seared through him as the fifth bead went in. Harry gave a sobbing moan and stroked himself even faster.

"I knew you would like it. You feel good, don't you?"

Harry whimpered some sort of affirmation and bucked his hips wildly, thrilled as the beads inside him moved and teased him from the inside.

"Yes!" He gasped out.

"You're about to come, aren't you? So soon... You've been longing for this, haven't you?" Voldemort purred again, and Harry whimpered helplessly, falling in love with that dark, hoarse voice.

"I-I can't! I'm going to!" The sixth bead slipped in, and that was it. With a silent howl, Harry let himself go, clenching his inner walls, loving the feeling of having the beads inside. His eyes rolled backwards as the white cum splashed against his chest and stomach. "Fuck, yes!" Harry yelled in maddening pleasure, as his body jerked from the aftershocks of climax.

When the powerful orgasm was over, Harry laid motionless on his bed, too exhausted to move, or to even pull the beads out. Soaked with his own cum, he took the mirror in his hand again and met the Dark Lord's gaze. It was as intense as ever.

"Was that good?" Harry asked, hoping he had done it right. A strange warmth sparked in his chest as Voldemort smirked and nodded.

"Oh yes, Harry. That was very good indeed."

Harry smiled tiredly.

"I'm glad."

"You should wash yourself up before going to sleep."

Harry agreed and did a cleansing spell to his body, and one to his bed which was rather sticky. When he was satisfied with the cleaning, he pulled the beads out carefully, then crept under his blanket and snuggled against the pillow, gazing into the red eyes of Voldemort. The eyes blinked slowly again, an almost soft expression. Harry sighed and put his hot forehead to the glass, as if trying to get closer to the dark lord.

"I want to see you. I want you to touch me." he murmured, ignoring how embarrassed he felt to admit what he wanted. Voldemort nodded.

"We will meet, eventually. Nagini will explain everything later. You see, there is a way for me to get into Hogwarts."

Harry snapped his eyes open at this. There was a way?! He wanted it! A desperate feeling of wanting flowed inside The Boy Who Lived, and he grinned excitedly at the Dark Lord on the other side of the mirror.

"Tell me."

tbc.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I hope Voldemort's long explanation made some sense. I really tried to make it sound easy. If there's something you're pondering over, just ask. I've been working my ass off for you guys, and fyi, it's 3:30 am here, so I'm like... really tired right now.

And since I didn't write a sex-scene in chapter four, I wrote a major one in this chapter. Hope you liked it. It's been a while since I wrote something so... kinky. I'm actually quite embarrassed of my oh-so dirty mind! (blush)

Next chapter; Voldemort tells Harry about how he can get into Hogwarts. It's going to get a little complicated, but trust me; there will be naughty-ness involved sooner or later.


	7. Chapter 6

I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

I own the plot of this fic, and if you try to steal it from me it's against the law. I will see to it that your account is erased. (Trust me, my fic's been stolen before, and I HATE it when ppl do that. You shall see my wrath.)

Warnings(as if you didn't know this already); This is hardcore(!) yaoi (_Japanese concept for sexual relationships between men_), Dark!Harry, vampirism (I'm just as surprised as you are), and some foul language.

Au; Hi, I'm your dearly beloved author. I just want to clear out some things before I continue.

One, I am currently working my ass off in school. I know what you're thinking, and yes; we all hate high school, but really! You have no idea what it's like to be me right now. My whole body is aching from dancing like nuts for several days, in front of five different audiences since yesterday, and we're not even finished yet!... (sighs) Not to mention my poor throat, all sore from singing like crazy. I'm a soprano... and it sucks. Any way, I just wanted to let you know why it sometimes takes me a while to update. I'm a busy woman.

Two; Someone mentioned in a review that my fic might be a tad too explicit for Fanfiction dot net, and recommended I post it on adult fanfiction dot net instead... the only problem is that I don't have an account there, and I can't get myself one because I'm not eighteen yet. Hahaa... yea, I know it's probably real simple to get a false account, but I don't have the energy to do something so lengthy! (except from when it comes to youtube... Hah.)

But I'll be eighteen in just a couple of months (in april if you must know), and if this fic gets erased, I'll post it there instead. :D

B/N: Hi! It's Ender (the beta). I had a little something to add to this as well. I read plenty of stuff on fan fic dot net and I've seen plenty of really explicit stuff on there. This is why they have ratings such as M, for mature audiences. Thanks for caring though. XD

Three; I really hope I didn't shock anyone by writing such an explicit lime in the previous chapter. I was rather shocked myself. I didn't see that one coming. (blushes heavily) Which is exactly why it'd be really great if you'd write me a review to let me know what you think. (I thank all of you who reviewed chapter 5, I really appreciated it.)

I actually do care about what you guys think. K? Everyone clear on that? Good. Now, let's proceed. Sorry about the delay and the unnecessarily long Au.

Chapter six.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Harry's dark eyes had brightened. They were green again. Not as green as they were before, but at least they weren't dark anymore. It was almost as if Harry's body was floating on small clouds of relief. As if he had had heavy weights on his shoulders for several days, and now they were removed. His body felt light, and his thoughts were clear and not nearly as foggy as they had been during the last couple of days. Was it because of what happened last night?

Harry blinked and continued to stare at his reflection in the two-way mirror. Voldemort's red eyes weren't visible in it anymore, and Harry already somewhat missed the piercing gaze that made his skin shudder in delight and at the same time crawl in fearful excitement. A warm sensation came over his face as he thought of the previous night. He had never, in his entire life, been so turned on by anyone or anything. Just by thinking of what it felt like to have those... _things_ inside of him made Harry blush.

The dark haired boy smirked and put on his glasses, still with his back to Ron who was buttoning his robe. Harry honestly felt extremely tired, drained almost, because not only had he had an incredible orgasm a few hours ago, but he had also forced himself to stay awake long enough to hear Voldemort's plan. And what a brilliant plan it was. Well... it sounded extremely difficult and Harry half suspected to die, but it _was_ indeed brilliant, and with Voldemort's help he would definitely make it. Harry smirked.

However, despite Harry's good mood, it still meant that 'The Boy Who Lived' had only slept for about three hours.

Harry threw his bed a longing glance before catching up to Ron who was already waiting for him by the stairs. His red haired friend gave him the usual skewed smile before throwing his bag over his shoulder. Harry did the same, as he had always done, and followed Ron out of the Gryffindore common room. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes, and Harry started to feel uncomfortable. The silence felt almost awkward. That's when Ron finally spoke.

"Hermione's worried about you."

Harry couldn't prevent a snort from escaping his mouth. Ron glanced at him. Harry caught his glance and realized, for the first time, that Ron maybe wasn't as ignorant as Harry had thought. There was attention in those golden brown eyes. Harry gave Ron what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Hermione has always been worried about me, Ron," he said, trying to make it sound like a joke. Ron didn't look convinced.

"I'm serious Harry. She's reading more than ever! Lavender Brown told me that she caught Hermione reading a book about demons in the middle of the night a few days ago!" Ron all but hissed, as if he was afraid someone might hear him. "I've never seen her like this. And frankly... you're different from before. You've changed, Harry."

Harry couldn't contain the small laugh that tumbled over his lips.

"If I got a penny from each person who's said that to me..." he murmured amused, until he caught the almost annoyed look on Ron's face. "Look, it's no big deal! People change, Ron. I'm fifteen for crying out loud, sorry for growing up," Harry exclaimed and added hurt annoyance in his voice. Ron fell for it, just as Harry had planned, and patted Harry's shoulder.

"Sorry mate, it's just you've been acting kinda weird lately. You can't deny it. I mean... I saw..." Ron trailed off and turned his head away. Harry's heart leaped. What had Ron seen?!

"What?" Harry said, sounding a lot sharper than he intended. Ron looked awkward.

"It's not a big deal, as you say, really. I mean, you're free to do whatever you want and-"

"Ron, what did you see?!" Harry grabbed Ron's robe. If Harry's brain had gotten more sleep, he would probably have realized that if Ron had actually seen something too disturbing, for example massive masturbation sessions, including whispers of a certain Dark Lord's name, Ron wouldn't be that cool about it. The red-head just looked a little awkward and unsure. Not horrified and disgusted. But Harry didn't make these conclusions.

"Relax, mate. Jeez, what's wrong with you?" Ron exclaimed and shrugged Harry's hand off. "I just saw you with Malfoy and that other Slytherin-scum the other day... by the quidditch field."

Harry relaxed. Ron hadn't seen anything of any real relevance. Harry shrugged.

"Oh that," he said, cursing the relieved tone in his voice, "Yeah, I was, um... just arguing with the bastard... uh... because the Slytherins used the quidditch field last week even though we had booked it and-"

"Harry, I'm not that stupid."

_You're not?_ Harry thought before he could stop himself. Ron glared at him.

"You guys weren't fighting, you were sharing cigarettes!" Ron huffed angrily and stormed off, clearly pissed off at Harry who stared after him.

"Ron!" Harry called after him. "Please, wait! It wasn't as if I was... I mean... uh..." Harry couldn't think of anything to say. Ron stopped any way and turned to face Harry.

"Look, despite the fact that I think that Malfoy's an idiotic prick, it's not up to me who you decide to befriend, but... I was kinda hoping you'd tell me about it," Ron said, looking both hurt and annoyed. "Am I still your best friend, Harry?"

"Of course you are!" Harry exclaimed, realizing at once that it was true, but for some reason a sharp sting of pain made itself known in his chest as he said it. Ron sighed.

"Is that so? Really... I feel like I don't know you anymore. We don't hang around like we used to, and you seem so damn distant all the time!"

Harry was beyond shocked at this rate. Ron had noticed all of this?

"And I can accept smoking, Harry, but I'm your best friend! _I'm_ the one who's supposed to start smoking with you, not bloody Malfoy." Ron sounded hurt, and Harry's chest hurt again.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Harry murmured, still feeling shocked, and ashamed. More ashamed than Hermione had ever made him feel. Ron was so honest. These were his true feelings, and Harry knew that it was a rare thing that Ron would talk so openly about them. "If you want to, I can smoke with _you_ next time," Harry said, laughed a little, then realizing what a lame joke it was. Ron smiled though.

"Nah, it's okay, really. Just don't forget about me, okay?" Ron gave a smirk and continued the walk to their lesson, which Harry realized they were running rather late for.

"We better get going," Harry said and quickened his steps. He glanced at Ron from the corner of his eye. Ron still looked a bit concerned, as if in deep thoughts, which in itself was a rare thing.

Harry sighed. He had honestly not given much thought to his best friend. Hermione was a pure annoyance these days, and Harry didn't really think he'd miss her very much after he was gone, but Ron... Ron was his first friend. Ron was always cool about stuff, except for homework and things involving Hermione or Voldemort. They had the same sense of humor, except Harry laughed at cruel muggle-jokes, and Ron did not.

It'd be a lot more painful to leave Ron behind than Hermione. A lot more.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

'...After he was gone', yes. It's exactly what it sounds like. Harry was going away from Hogwarts, without a hint of fear or doubt. Or, well... Actually he was experiencing a little bit of both, but only a little! Or a lot?

Any way! Harry wasn't planning on staying at Hogwarts. No matter how much he enjoyed the large castle with all its quirks, he now knew where he belonged. The world of humans was simply too bright for him. The annoyance towards everything that was light and happy lurked inside of him with each day. What used to fill him with comfort and happiness now disgusted him, as if he was reading a book with too many clichés. Lovey-dovey, happy family, walking on sunshine! Harry despised it all now.

A part of him missed the younger Harry, the naïve Harry, who enjoyed the sunshine and the company of his friends. But he couldn't go back now. He would never be the same again and that started to hurt. The truth was beginning to set in; he was going to leave everything behind.

Hermione was merely an annoyance, and Harry was pretty sure he wouldn't miss her all that much, but Ron! Harry was going to miss Ron.

Harry sighed as he stared into the black, damp stonewall of the dungeon classroom. Potions again. He really hated that subject. It was such a diffuse kind of magic. He preferred curses and spells. Oh well, there was only five minutes left of the class anyway. Harry yawned. He hadn't done anything at all, during those 75 torturous minutes of being trapped in the dark classroom. The only thing Harry really enjoyed about the lesson was the darkness of the room. Such a soothing, dull darkness.

"Mr. Potter?" Snapes drawling voice snapped Harry out of his sleepy daydreams and he realized with a start that Snape was standing right in front of him. Some of the students around him snickered at Harry's confused face. He sighed.

"Yes, sir?"

Snape didn't say anything. He leaned over Harry's desk, bringing his own face closer to Harry's. Harry arched an eyebrow at the teacher's odd behavior.

"Sir?" He repeated as Snape didn't say anything. Snape just stared into Harry's eyes, searching for something. Maybe for some kind of difference. Harry forced his dark green eyes to meet Snape's black pools. After about half a minute of awkward silence, Snape forrowed his brows and muttered.

"...Could've sworn they were darker yesterday..."

Snape pulled back from Harry who felt like he had been holding his breath. He stared after the teacher as Snape made his way back to his desk at the front. Harry smirked. Snape had had a real purpose for doing that strange potion the other day after all. Just like Hermione, the dark teacher was suspecting something odd with Harry. No wonder, really. Harry had been acting the total opposite of his usual behavior for several weeks now. If anyone thought it was something wrong with him, it wouldn't be too shocking.

"Something the matter, sir?" Harry couldn't help but to add a teasing tone to the question. Anyone else would miss it, but Snape would notice it, he knew it. And indeed, the head of Slytherin met Harry's slightly amused gaze and his black eyes narrowed coldly.

"Five points from Gryffindore, Mr. Potter," Snape drawled, a hint of anger very clear in his normally so stoic voice. Groans were heard throughout the room.

"Why?" Harry exclaimed, automatically reacting like he had always done when points were taken from his house. Snape gave him an ice-look.

"For being cheeky, quite simply," Snape said, and snickered a little. The Slytherins took his example. Harry fumed. This was so like Snape! If Harry wasn't so sure that he was leaving Hogwarts soon enough, he might've actually cared. Well, he did care, but...

The class was finally over and Harry shoved his books into his bag and left the dungeon, as if suddenly in a hurry. He couldn't stand being in the same room as that man anymore. The mere presence of Snape disgusted him, and an inexplicable anger seared through his chest.

"Harry?" Ron's hand was placed on Harry's slightly trembling shoulder. "Don't let him get to you, mate," Ron muttered, to show that he shared Harry's anger. Once again the pain of knowing that he would have to leave Ron behind made itself known and Harry met Ron's eyes. He gave his best friend a small smile and nodded before walking towards the Gryffindore house.

That's when the pain came. A sharp, numbing pain. It was so sudden and shocking that Harry gasped and gripped the front of his chest. He was panting slightly and stared down at the floor, waiting, afraid another twinge of pain would sear through him. It did.

"Ah!" Harry gasped again and clutched his shirt tighter. What was happening?!

"Harry? What's wrong?" Ron asked, sounding extremely worried. "Is it the scar?" If Harry wasn't in pain at the moment, he would've laughed; Ron was still terrified of everything that had anything to do with Voldemort.

"N-no... it's not the scar," Harry choked out. "It just... hurts!" Ron took a firm grip of Harry's shoulder to make sure Harry wouldn't fall over.

"I'll take you to Madam Pompfrey." At this Harry shook his head no. Because he had already realized what was wrong. He had been expecting something to happen, but that it'd be so painful? Harry cursed under his breath. He certainly hadn't expected that. And that it would be so damn sudden? It was almost ridiculous.

"No, it's okay... I know what's wrong," he moaned with pain and gripped Ron's robe to keep himself up. His veins felt like they were on fire, twisting and turning in his body. "J-just... just help me to my bed!"

Ron looked a bit hesitating but obeyed never the less.

"Now, Ron... c-could you," Harry groaned and wrapped his arms around his stomach, "Please, give me some time alone. L-leave me alone for a little while... don't worry, okay?"

"But Harry-!" Ron started, absolutely bewildered, but Harry stopped him.

"Please! I know what's wrong, and I know how to fix it, but you have to leave me alone!" Harry all but roared, due to the mixed pain and annoyance. Ron shut up, stared at Harry for a few seconds, then left. Harry felt bad for shouting at Ron, but the pain overtook his guilty feelings and he pulled the curtains, whimpered a locking spell and '_muffliato_', so that no one would hear him, even though the room was currently empty.

Then he stripped, fast, and stretched out on the large mattress. He let his fingers wander over his sweaty skin, as the muscles under his fingers twitched from the delight at being freed from the warm clothes, and also the pain that still coursed through him. Harry gasped again and glanced towards his groin. He was embarrassed, and annoyed, at the sight. He hadn't even touched himself there, and it was already hard and flushed. Harry groaned with anger and turned his face away. With a trembling hand he removed his glasses.

Knowing that there wasn't anything else he could do, nor wanted to do, he settled against the pillows and parted his legs widely. Harry's right hand, as the left one was busy with his nipple, made its way towards his hard shaft, already dripping excitedly. As Harry finally took a grip of it, he moaned with relief at finally getting stimulation and made a slow pump. His hips jerked as a command for him to go faster. The pain faded rapidly. Harry closed his eyes to shut out the rest of the world. Flashes of crimson eyes ran though Harry's mind and he whimpered as he realized, once again, that pleasing himself simply wasn't enough.

He wouldn't need the beads this time, though. He was already hard enough to come from something less... kinky.

Harry grabbed the two-way mirror from his nightstand and rolled over on his side. Lifting one knee in the air, while the other leg was still resting on the matress. Harry buried his cheek in his pillow, and closed his eyes for a few seconds more. Then he put the mirror to his face, resting his hot forehead against the cool glass.

"Tom Riddle..." he whispered out. When he finally opened his eyes again, he met the crimson gaze, and Harry couldn't help but to moan and buck his hips. "Tom!" He gasped out.

Voldemort gave him a calm, yet somewhat soothing look. As he understood exactly what Harry was going through. There was also wanting in those red eyes, Harry noticed, and it aroused him.

"I want you..." Harry moaned. "I want you to be here with me... and touch me..." Simply too turned on to be embarrassed, Harry met the Dark Lord's gaze.

"Are you in pain, Harry?" Voldemort asked. Harry didn't answer right away, because he had to catch his breath.

"Y-yes... or I was, but this helps..." Harry murmured and started pumping himself again. "It feels good... so good..." Harry murmured dazedly, seemingly to himself. Voldemort gave a low snicker.

"Well... this is indeed a nice view, Harry," he said, rather huskily, Harry noticed through the dazed state. "Mind if I join in?"

Harry snapped his eyes open and stared into the mirror he gripped so tightly in his hand. It wasn't the red eyes anymore. Or the black, neatly combed hair. Harry gulped and felt the familiar orgasmic warmth pooling in the pit of his stomach. Staring hungrily at the scene, Harry rolled over, kneeling on the bed, resting his upper chest on the matress. His hands reached up to grip his now dripping erection and pumped it desperately while keeping his eyes on the mirror he had placed on the pillow in front of him.

He saw a man's body, from the chest to the knees, sitting on a throne-like chair in a dark room. There was fire in the background, probably a fireplace. The man, who presumably was Voldemort, was dressed in expensive red and black robes with silver details. But it wasn't the clothing that entranced Harry. Voldemort had revealed his own member through the layers of clothing, and was now stroking it in a fast, brilliant rhythm. The hand Voldemort wasn't using to touch himself was resting calmly at the arm of the throne-like chair. Harry moaned.

Voldemort was in so much control. Even when jerking off, Voldemort was so cool. Not at all like Harry, who was panting, sweating and moaning like any typical hormonal teenager.

"When we meet, Harry," Voldemort said with a low, husky voice, "You are going to taste this... would you like that?" Voldemort purred. Harry swallowed, blushing madly.

"Y-yes, my lord," he panted out, feeling more aroused than ever. It felt like he and Voldemort were playing some kind of dirty sex-game.

"Tell me what you want me to do to you," Voldemort said darkly. Harry sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"I want you to touch me... and taste me," Harry murmured heatedly. "I want to feel your hand on me... like this," Harry said, hoping he was making some sense.

"Is that all?" Voldemort drawled.

"N-no... I want..." Harry swallowed, feeling his orgasm closing in, "I want to feel you inside of me!" Harry gasped out, "I want to have your cock in me!" That's when Harry finally reached around himself with one of his now rather wet hand and let a finger slip inside the tight hole. That was it. With a guttural yell, Harry finally spilled himself over the mattress. He buried his head into the pillow, squinting and pumping himself madly, while letting the finger slip in and out, just a few inches, but it was enough. For now. His body writhed and cramped uncontrollably.

When it was over, and Harry had cleaned up the mess, he sat back against the pillows again and threw the mirror a glance while dressing. Voldemort's, now slightly amused, eyes stared back at him. Harry blushed and turned away again. Echoes of what he had said to the Dark Lord repeated themselves inside his head, and he blushed even more. When did he get so kinky?! Still... faint sparks of orgasmic delight tingled over his skin, and Harry couldn't help but to smile contently.

Turning back to the mirror again, he smirked at Voldemort.

"Did you finish yourself off?" Harry said teasingly, quite certain that it would annoy Voldemort. However, said lord just smirked back.

"Yes, actually. You have a rather nice look on your face when you come, Harry."

Harry blushed even more and sent Voldemort a glare.

"W-what are you saying, you perverted old man?" he muttered, but couldn't ignore the warmth that spread in his chest. "I have to go now. Ron's probably really worried about me."

"Harry."

Harry turned back, just as he was about to leave the bed.

"Yes?"

Voldemort just looked at him for a few seconds. There was a hint of suffering in those eyes. Or maybe it was pity.

"You do realize that you have to leave them all behind, don't you?"

Harry's smile disappeared. He nodded slowly, and let some black strands cover his eyes.

"I know..." he murmured and put the mirror on his nightstand. Then he made sure everything looked alright before exiting the room. Ron was in the common room. When he saw Harry he immediately shot up from the chair he had been sitting on.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, sounding like a worried father. "Any pain? Headache? Why are you up and about? You should be in bed!"

Harry laughed.

"You're starting to sound like Hermione, Ron," he smirked teasingly. "I'm fine, really," he said and gave Ron a reassuring smile. Ron replaced the concerned frown with a relieved smile.

"Good to hear, mate! Good to hear."

Harry smiled and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. The flames reminded him of the fire that had sparked behind Voldemort only a few minutes earlier.

He understood clearly why he had been in so much pain. Voldemort had explained it to him before. The vampiric virus had just started to wake up, new and inexperienced so far, and it doesn't approve of the human body. It's too weak, and has too few pleasure points. And so, the disapproval keeps building up until finally it breaks and the body starts hurting until you do something about it. The vampiric virus longs for comfort, for pleasure. It's simply how it works. And it was Voldemort who had woken the virus up after all. So sexual pleasure, combined with some kind of contact with Voldemort, was pretty much the only thing that helped.

To put it simply; Harry's body was so sexually frustrated, it had finally started to hurt.

Harry had started laughing as Voldemort told him this. It sounded so ridiculous, not to mention weird.

But apparently, it was true. Harry wondered how long it would take until the next time. The pain-attacks wouldn't stop coming until he and Voldemort really did it. Harry blushed and tried to hide from Ron's curious gaze by scratching his cheek. Harry's body longed for Voldemort's body. Harry longed for Voldemort.

'The Boy Who Lived' sighed and stared into the fire.

_How much longer?_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_Flashback_

"It's both simple and complicated, Harry," Voldemort said, as he started explaining the plan of how to get into Hogwarts. "Actually, half of the process is already completed. I've already given you a piece of my soul. Now all you have to do is to give me a piece of yours."

Harry choked and stared wide-eyed into the red pair of orbs.

"What?! How... I mean, I... I don't know how to do something like that! Isn't that really dangerous?! I'm fifteen for crying out loud, I don't even know how to transform a pig into a chair yet, and you expect me to just cut off a piece of my soul and hand it over to you?" Harry yelled, realizing that Voldemort had tried to interrupt him. The Dark Lord had an annoyed look on his face.

"Don't panic. It's not difficult, since I have already done half of the work for you. Currently, your being contains too much soul."

"Come again?" Harry quirked one eyebrow and sat up in the bed. "You can have too much soul?"

"Of course you can. You were born with your own soul Harry. You were born with _one_ soul. I added a new piece of soul into your body. So now you have too much. Is that really so hard to understand?"

Harry pouted, which felt somewhat odd. Who the hell pouts in front of Voldemort?

"You don't have to be so grumpy about it," he muttered. Voldemort sighed, clearly frustrated.

"I'm not being... _grumpy_. Just listen to me now... you stupid boy." The last words were muttered with a quieter voice, as if he was hoping Harry wouldn't hear him. However, Harry did hear, and he sent the mirror a hot glare. Voldemort ignored it. "It's not going to be pleasurable. You have to stay strong, no matter what. The first step is that... well, we won't be having any kinds of sexual activity for a while."

At this, Harry whined, and couldn't help but to notice how much it sounded like a hissing. Like the kind of sound an angry cat makes.

"Why not?" Harry said, sounding almost angry. "It really hurts to wait!" Voldemort showed no emotion, save for annoyance.

"I know. But you have to!" The man sneered. "It's the only way. The easiest way. Do you understand?" Harry nodded. "Good. Your eyes will finally turn completely black, and that's when you will be able to see your own soul. It's almost like a survival instinct. Your body will hurt badly enough for it to believe that you are in danger, and so it activates certain... specail abilities.What you have to remember is that it's not only your eyes that will change. After starving your body for so long, your skin might take a paler shade, and your mood will simply be terrible. You have to come up with a good excuse for your behavior and appearance. I would recommend telling everyone that you have the flu."

"The flu?" Harry said, slightly amused. "The flu doesn't make you look like a vampire, you moron." Voldemort glared at Harry.

"Then come up with something better yourself," he sneered, unconsciously showing a small, sharp fang under his upper lip, and Harry swallowed excitedly. "The important thing is that no one suspects you."

Harry coughed a little.

"Um.. well, actually... Severus Snape is already suspecting me. And so is my friend Hermione. Snape even made me breathe in some weird potion."

"Well, he is a clever man, Snape," Voldemort drawled, fury burning in his eyes, "I swear, I will kill that man some day."

"And I'll take lots of bloody snap-shots," Harry smirked. Voldemort smirked back, though Harry wasn't sure Voldemort knew what "snap-shot" was.

"Just try to behave as normal as possible. When the time is ready, you have to go to Dumbledore's office, and steal something that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin."

"What's that?"

"A knife." Voldemort suddenly looked serious. More serious than usual. "It's the knife you have to cut yourself with." Harry's breath quickened with frightened excitement. "Listen carefully to me now. You have to cut your wrist. And you have to let yourself bleed, until you're at the edge of death. The soul will then be visible, and you have to cut off a piece of your soul with the Slytherin knife and put it in a bottle. Then you must give the bottle to Nagini. She will bring me the bottle. And be careful not to cut off the piece of soul I gave you. I need a piece of _your_ soul." Harry nodded to all of this, even though he thought it sounded crazy and impossible.

"And you mustn't die. Do you hear me? You must not die." Voldemort said clearly and slowly, as if Harry didn't understand that himself.

"Okay, okay," Harry exclaimed, swallowed and closed his eyes. "I won't die."

"That's a good boy," Voldemort purred but remained serious. "Do you realize the importance of your survival? If you die, I won't be able to save you, your soul, or myself." Harry stared at the man in the mirror.

"What do you mean?" he breathed. Voldemort blinked slowly.

"If you die, you die. You're dead. Gone. There's nothing I, or anyone else, can do about that. For you to become truly immortal you have to transform fully into a vampire. As for me, I cannot live without my soulmate, Harry. I can't live without you." Harry had stopped breathing.

"My lord..." He whispered, feeling a strange, stinging sensation in his currently bright green eyes. Voldemort gave Harry an intensive stare, filled with emotions Harry couldn't quite read.

"If you die, Harry... I die too."

_End of flashback._

TBC.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

End of chapter five everyone. Please, review. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

Oh dear, it seems as though I've turned into a naughty author. (_hides face in hands_) Please bear with me and my dirty, dirty mind. (starts humming on "you're such a dirty, dirty rockstar..")

I hope Voldemort's "brilliant plan" made some sense. If anyone has questions, don't be scared to ask. But chill. I know a lot of you are probably confused, but I promise; I've got it figured out. I know what I'm doing. K?


	8. Chapter 7

I don't own Harry Potter.

I own the plot of this fic, if you steal it from me it's against the law, and I'll personally see to that your account gets erased. Believe me, my fic's been stolen before and I can get really pissed. Besides, stealing another person's fiction is just a proof of your own lack of talent. In other words; stealing another person's fic is downright pathetic.

Warnings; (Just in case you haven't read this in any of the previous chapters) This is yaoi (Japanese concept for sex between men), Dark!Harry, vampirism, foul language, and random bloody scenes.

Sorry for the long wait you guys, I've been busy with school, part-time job, and my other fictions. Sorry! I feel really bad, I hope you can forgive me!

I'm sorry to say that there will be no sexual content in this chapter, but Harry will think about it a great lot and people will talk about it a little... I think. And besides, sex isn't everything, is it? This chapter will be really dark, since Harry is going to be extremely moody, irritated and downright pissed. Kinda like a male pms-ing. Only a tad worse. Be aware; this chapter contains cursing, rage, darkness, some black magic and blood. So put on some good music (I recommend something dark and angry... like Ill Niño, My Dying Bride or Dir en Grey(- "Obscure" is yummie)) and I'm sure we'll get through this together. (Obviously, I don't own any of the bands I previously mentioned, I just like them a lot.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chapter seven.

Five days.

Five long, fucking days! That's how long it had been since the last time he had talked to Voldemort. It was also the same amount of time that Harry had restrained himself from any kind of sexual activity. He hadn't been touching himself in any way. He hadn't even been thinking about it, but only because he had promised Voldemort not to do so. In truth, Harry's body was dying from sexual frustration.

Harry muttered darkly to himself as he walked through the corridors, not really paying much attention to Hermione who was walking beside him. The corridor was empty save for them, and Harry was grateful for that. He had been acting like Mr. Sunshine all week, and he was sick of it. He needed to be grumpy for a while, since the frustrated feeling inside of him only increased with each dreadful day of not seeing Voldemort. That bastard of a dark lord hadn't even showed up in the mirror when Harry had called him, and for some reason that annoyed Harry even more.

It was as if the Dark Lord thought that Harry was going to beg him for sex as soon as he saw him, as if it wasn't Voldemort himself who had started the whole fucking drama! Harry groaned again as a hot wave flooded through his body, making his blood boil for a second, then disappeared. They had been coming and going all day, those hot waves. Sometimes, they were so hot that they felt cold. And Harry felt sick to his stomach. For different reasons. The humans disgusted him, eating their fat, simple food, stuffing their faces with meat and vegetables. Sweating and moving like cattle. They all disgusted Harry with their simple ways of living, feeding and breeding. They were barely even thinking for themselves. Had he really been one of them once?

"Harry?" Harry gave Hermione a brief glance to let her know that he had heard her, but simply wasn't interested enough to give her a proper reply. He could hear how she swallowed, how the muscles in her throat worked to get the saliva down. Harry made a face. He felt sick again. Why did he have to be surrounded by these creatures?

"You seem awfully distressed. Is something the matter?" Hermione's voice was rather careful, which told Harry two things; one, Hermione was once again in her mother-mood, and two, Hermione was still a bit afraid of Harry. He couldn't help but to smirk. How nice it felt to know that someone feared him. He stopped in mid stride and turned to face Hermione.

"What's the color of my eyes?" he asked her and stared straight into her surprised, slightly frightened eyes. She seemed to think about for a second or two before pursing her lips.

"They're green. Maybe a tad darker than usual, but they're still green Harry. Don't worry about it." Hermione smiled gently and put her hand on his shoulder. Harry, who actually felt like screaming with frustration, smirked again. Hermione obviously mistook his smirk for a smile, because she smiled wider and kept walking expecting Harry to follow her. Which in fact he was going to do, but only because they had the same class; Defense Against the Dark Arts. But actually, Harry's smirk was caused by amusement. He couldn't help it.

Hermione was surprisingly naïve for someone of such high intelligence. She thought that Harry had been worried about the shade of his eyes. Which, in some ways, he was. However, she also presumed that he would be relieved to hear that they were still green, which was a fact that only made him feel more frustrated than before. But of course, in Hermione's world, Harry was still the gentle 'Boy Who Lived'.

His eyes were still green. They were still green! Sure, they had darkened according to Hermione, but they were still green! It had been five days already! Why wouldn't they turn black? Harry knew that he was irrational to expect his appearance to change so quickly, but it still annoyed the shit out of him. Voldemort had told him that it might take a while. But this was driving Harry mad. His head hurt twenty-four-seven. He felt sick all the time and for some reason, he felt hungry. What made him so frustrated about being hungry wasn't exactly the feeling itself, it was more the question of _what_ he was hungry for.

Eating lunch with his fellow Hogwarts students only made him feel like vomiting. Like eating together with a bunch of pigs. There was no discipline in the way they ate, no elegance. And the food... didn't taste like food in Harry's mouth any more. He could chew it, swallow it and feel some kind of physical content, but the hunger was still lurking inside of him, never being fully satisfied no matter how much human food Harry ate.

"Read from chapter twenty-six; How to make pixies disappear," that disgustingly sweet voice said as Harry and Hermione plopped down on two chairs and took their books up. Obediently, Harry started reading the Pixie chapter, not really seeing the words. He kept glancing at Professor Umbridge, the woman he hated with all his heart. He would definitely ask Voldemort to kill her some day. The woman was so... pink. But that wasn't at all what annoyed Harry the most. The woman seemed to believe that Harry wanted everyone to believe in him, to believe that Voldemort had returned, when in fact Harry couldn't care less. It was actually Hermione and Ron who kept saying that Harry wasn't lying about the matter. Harry himself didn't give a shit whether people believed him or not, why should he?

In fact, if people chose not to believe him, it would only make it easier for Harry to maintain this little act. People wouldn't watch him too closely, and they wouldn't keep an eye out for Voldemort either. In short, it was better if people didn't believe him.

However, as it was, Dolores Umbridge still believed that Harry aimed to become the perfect prince of the good side. And so she had obviously decided to pester him as much as possible, always giving him dirty looks and weird comments. If only she knew what Harry did when he was alone... alone with Voldemort... in his bed.

_No! Don't think about it!_ A burning, aroused blush was already adorning his cheeks. He swallowed and tried to concentrate on reading the book. Reading about pixies should normally be a big turn off for anyone, but for Harry, who had been sex-starved for five days, nothing seemed to stop the growing arousal. Five days may sound little to anyone else, but not to forget; Harry wasn't altogether human anymore. His skin got all the hotter as the images of dead pixies blurred together. Harry couldn't see properly anymore. Dazedly, he was now just staring at the book, without seeing, forcing himself to experience it. If he didn't do something, he would explode!

Harry lifted a shaky hand, hoping Umbridge wouldn't ignore him, as she usually did. The pink teacher gave him a false smile and a small nod.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Can I go to the bathroom, Professor?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible, which was hard since in some ways he felt like throwing up. His head hurt, and he felt sick, but still aroused. This was an odd mixture and Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. Umbridge gave him a long, hard stare before nodding again.

"Five minutes, Mr. Potter," she chirped as he walked out of the room. Harry didn't care about it, but ran as fast as he could to the bathroom. When he got there, there was no one around, which wasn't too surprising. Harry's class and the Slytherin class were the only two classes who had lessons that late. Everyone else was probably in their common rooms. Harry gave a shudder and walked to one of the sinks and stared at himself in the mirror. His skin was pale, save for his slightly pink cheeks, and he was sweating. For all he knew, he looked as if he was about to faint. Harry was stubbornly ignoring the small erection he had developed in the classroom, but it only made him feel more ill. He needed something to replace the arousal.

Then it hit him. Pain. Pain would without a doubt kill the arousal! Harry swallowed and put his hand into his pocket, bringing out his feather pen. He experimentally pressed his finger over the pointy metal and shuddered. It was still very sharp after years of usage. Eager to get rid of the dangerous arousal, Harry pulled his sleeve up and put the sharp edge against the inside of his arm, just below his elbow, and pressed. He watched with a dazed fascination as the metal sunk into his skin, into his flesh, and finally drew blood. Harry gasped as the pain shot up his arm and made him scrunch his face up a bit. He let the metal make a small line in his skin and then removed it, only to push it in again.

When Harry was done, he stared at the scar he had made. His arm was now adorned with a gleaming red 'V'. Harry stood up on shaky legs, feeling sicker than ever, but relieved that the arousal was gone. His body began to shudder and the cold sweat dripped over his eyebrows.

Harry tried to drink some water to calm him down, but that turned out to be a huge mistake. Two seconds later, Harry was desperately leaning over a toilet, emptying the contents of his stomach. Gasps, coughs and splashing, disgusting sounds were heard throughout the room. When he was finally done, and all he could do was to breathe heavily, he stared down at the mess that had previously been inside of his stomach. With an almost content feeling, he noticed that the small amount of human food he had eaten that day was included in the disgusting mess.

However, Harry also saw something that made him feel slightly worried. There was blood in it. Dark, crimson blood was floating around in the toilet. Harry blinked slowly, then flushed the toilet with a disgusted frown. Things were getting interesting, weren't they? Harry washed his sticky face a little and left the bathroom.

As he slowly walked back to the classroom, he realized two things; One, he was completely drained. All his remaining energy had left with the puke. Two; He had definitely been away for more than five minutes. Harry sped up a little and jogged back to the classroom, even though he felt like he could fall asleep right then and there. When he finally opened the door and walked into the classroom, staggering a little, Umbridge immediately giggled. A giggle that triggered Harry's anger with a hot pang. He had been trying his best all day to act normal. Why did this pink creature have to make it so hard?

"You've been away for over fifteen minutes, Mr. Potter," she chirped, coldness seeping into her words as she spoke. "What were you doing?"

"None of your fucking business," Harry said loud and clear, completely without thinking, and the whole classroom froze. Harry cursed himself and wanted nothing more than to slap himself right then and there for his daftness. He wasn't allowed to speak like that to a professor! He knew that! But the words had just left him without permission, and to be honest, a big part of Harry severely enjoyed the shocked look on the woman's face.

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" She hissed, not even trying to chirp anymore, and the anger was visible in her eyes. Pink spots had appeared on her cheeks, and Harry would've smirked out of amusement, but instead he made the face of a rebellious teenager. He frowned a little and gave Professor Umbridge a dirty look before sitting down. Hermione was staring at him, but Harry refused to meet her gaze. Instead he continued to read the pixie-chapter until the girl on his right side finally turned away from him. He fumed. Even though it had been quite amusing to see Umbridge get angry, the situation began to sink in. To spend an entire hour with the pink woman after class, when all he wanted was to go to sleep, was _not_ what he needed right now.

But there was little Harry could do, because just as he was about to sneak out of the classroom along with the other students, it was as if an invisible hook got stuck in his robe and dragged him back in. Professor Umbridge smirked as she gave a flick with her wand and made Harry sit down by the desk closest to the teacher's desk.

"Were you trying to sneak away, Mr. Potter?" she chirped and earned herself a hard glare from Harry.

"Obviously, Professor Umbridge," he muttered with forced courtesy. The teacher gave an unpleasant grin and pattered towards him, blinking innocently.

"Gee, what a shame. I might have to keep you here one extra hour because of that." Harry clenched his jaws and swallowed, repeating Voldemort's words in his head, _"No one must suspect you... stay calm... try to act normal."_

"I apologize, Professor Umbridge," he murmured, his voice trembling a little from anger. Umbridge gave another unpleasant smile, obviously pleased that she was pissing Harry off.

"That's good, boy. Because deep, deep down, you know you deserve to get punished," she said and gave him a black feather pen that somehow felt heavy and strange in Harry's hand. Umbridge then gave him one of those disgusting fake-caring looks, making Harry want to snarl at the awful woman. The teacher went back to her own desk to pour herself a cup of tea, then she took a seat on the large chair behind the desk. The kittens on the plates around her purred and mewed, as if they actually liked her presence. Maybe that's why she collected them; they were the only ones who could stand her. Harry would've laughed, but he was too annoyed.

"I really don't need this right now." he muttered to himself and put the pen to the paper, "What do you want me to write?" he asked the teacher. Umbridge smiled.

"'I must never be rude towards my teacher at any time,'" she replied and took a sip of her tea. Harry stared at her in disgust for a few seconds, then started to write.

"This is ridiculous-" he whispered, but took a silent gasp as he had finished the first sentence. A hot, numbing pain suddenly blossomed on the back of Harry's hand. He stared in awe, as the words he had just written on the paper appeared on his hand. They were cut into his skin, and he would've started to bleed, but the skin healed too quickly. Harry stared at the faint scar on his hand for a few seconds. He threw a glance at the words on the papers, and realized that the red ink was in fact his own blood.

If Harry was still his old self, he would undoubtedly get scared and upset, but...

A sly smirk appeared on Harry's face, and a thrill ran up his spine as he, once more, put the pen to his paper and wrote the sentence again. The same, numbing pain coursed through Harry's hand, but instead of gasping with pain, Harry gave a low snicker and stared with fascination at the bloody words. The blood on his paper smelled... lovely.

So Harry, who was starting to rather enjoy the detention more and more, wrote the sentence over and over again, almost eagerly. The words on his hand didn't heal anymore. Soon, big droplets of blood fell from his hand, making spots on the papers and red lines on his skin. After about two hours of dazed writing, Harry didn't write the sentence any more. He just drew the pen over the paper, and almost moaned when new scars appeared on his skin. It wasn't exactly sexual pleasure, but it was close. Harry was already addicted to the pain, when suddenly Professor Umbridge's hand came around his wrist.

"I told you to stop now, Mr. Potter!" she exclaimed and stared, almost frightened, at Harry who stared back at her. His eyes narrowed and darted towards her small, chubby hand on his skin. He finally fell over the edge. How dare she prevent him from doing something so pleasurable? Harry slowly stood up and gave the teacher a furious glare. Professor Umbridge released him and reached for her wand, but before she grasped it, Harry grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him, making her yelp.

"Let go of me!" she hissed, sounding both panicked, angry and frightened. Harry was barely aware of what he was doing at this rate, and just snickered against her ear. The teacher stopped squirming, as if the depth of Harry's voice numbed her. She was almost limp in his grip. He put his nose against her neck and inhaled. Oh, he could smell the blood behind that pale skin...

"Harry!" The voice came from the door, and Harry abruptly woke up from his dazed state, feeling drugged and sleepy. Dumbledore stared at him, while Professor McGonagall was gaping and grasping the black scarf around her neck. "What are you doing?" Dumbledore asked, sounding strict and worried. Harry stared at the old man, then at Professor Umbridge who was still limp in his grip, then back at the headmaster. He shrugged and let go of the teacher who fell to the floor with a 'thud.'

"I don't know..." Harry drawled, still feeling drugged, and gave a low snicker. "I wasn't making out with the old toad, if that's what you think..." Harry stopped smiling when he realized how strangely he was acting. He brought a hand to his forehead and rubbed it, suddenly feeling just as sick as before.

"What happened to your hand, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall gasped, sounding upset. Harry immediately put on the mask of his old self again and gave a weak smile.

"Oh, um... nothing really-" he said and wasn't surprised when the old woman rushed to his side and grabbed his arm to have a closer look.

"Oh my goodness! Don't tell me that Professor Umbridge made you use _that_ quill?" Harry just nodded and timidly turned his gaze to the floor, but smirked darkly at Professor McGonagall's back when she turned to Dumbledore.

"This is outrageous! We cannot accept these methods of hers!" the woman spat and gestured to the unconscious teacher who was still laying on the floor. Dumbledore gave Harry's hand a glance, then looked at Professor Umbridge on the floor.

"What... did you do to her, Harry?" the old man asked, peering suspiciously at Harry. Harry swallowed and met Dumbledore's sharp eyes, and before he knew what he was doing, he was smirking. It only lasted for about a second, but Dumbledore had undoubtedly seen it. Harry quickly frowned and closed his eyes. He had to do some acting, if he wanted Dumbledore to still think he was his old, gentle, foolish self.

"Everything is blurry," he murmured and furiously sought for some kind of excuse! "She... uh... She made me use that weird quill... and I started to get dizzy. I was so tired... and angry... she's been so cruel ever since she first came here!" Harry said, voice trembling and quivering. "Before I knew what I was doing, I had already cursed her! I am so sorry, sir! I was trying to wake her up when you arrived!"

Professor McGonagall nodded continuously and turned to Dumbledore who still looked bemused and suspicious.

"Is this the truth, Harry?"

Harry nodded shakily and even managed to squeeze out a small tear, which he quickly wiped away.

"I swear it! I don't know what happened! She just made me so angry!"

The older woman nodded again, and Harry smirked inwardly. Everyone knew how much Professor McGonagall hated Umbridge. No wonder she was so keen on believing Harry. Anything to get the toad fired!

"She makes us all angry, Mr. Potter! Headmaster, please have some understanding!"

Dumbledore finally seemed to give in and nodded slowly. He gave Harry a weak smile.

"I understand, Harry. We cannot always control our feelings. Besides, to make a student use a quill like that is most definitely against the rules," he said and turned to Professor McGonagall. "Minerva, please take Professor Umbridge to the hospital. Let Poppy have a look at her."

The grey-haired teacher nodded and immediately went to pick the unconscious teacher up.

"You can go, Harry. I'm sure you would like to get some sleep. You look pale, boy," Dumbledore put his hand on Harry shoulder just as Harry was about to walk out of the room. The old man stared intensively into Harry's eyes.

"Something the matter, sir?" He asked politely, even though the hand on his shoulder somewhat disgusted him. The headmaster blinked, and smiled. He shook his head.

"No. Your eyes just look... darker than usual. Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me, Harry?"

Harry just shook his head and smiled weakly.

"I think I would like to go to sleep now, sir. Good night."

"Good night."

Harry watched, with no emotion in his eyes, as Dumbledore walked away through the dimly lit corridors, followed by McGonagall who was making Professor Umbridge soar next to her. Harry merely watched them walk away, and when he couldn't see them anymore, he turned around and started to walk towards the Gryffindor common room. His unconcerned mask was wiped away, replaced by a dark leer. Harry started to chuckle as he thought of Dumbledore's words, "_We cannot always control our feelings." _

_Indeed we cannot, dear headmaster. I cannot control the fact that I long to feel Lord Voldemort's hands on my body, _Harry thought and gave a snigger at his own, sinful thoughts. Oh, if only the old man knew. These thoughts thrilled Harry. There was something about this game he was playing that was so incredibly exciting... satisfying almost.

_"Your eyes just look... darker than usual."_

Harry's leer turned into a grin, and the chuckle grew into laughter. Harry laughed harder, and leaned on the stonewall, grasping at his stomach. He could hear how his almost insane laughter echoed throughout the corridor. When he had finally calmed down, he stared at the pale moon, still grinning, but in a colder way.

"It's almost time, isn't it?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Harry! Where have you been?" Hermione exclaimed and looked as if she was about to rush to his side, but stopped when she saw the irritated look on his face.

"Out and about," he replied and gave a weak smile to calm her down a bit. Making her believe that he hated her wouldn't make things better. "I'm tired. I want to sleep." He walked past his former friend, gave her a quick, cold glance, then walked up the stairs. Ron met him halfway and tried to give Harry a smile, to which Harry responded to by giving a tired groan. Ron frowned, followed him into the room and closed the door.

"Would you please tell me what's going on? I know you don't want to talk to Hermione, even though I can't understand why not, but please, Harry!" Ron grabbed his shoulder before Harry had a chance to hide behind the curtains that surrounded his bed. "Talk to me!"

"I wish I could!" Harry snapped and yanked free from Ron's hands. He realized he had made a mistake. Ron now knew that there was something wrong, something that Harry couldn't talk about. "Ron, listen to me. Not even I understand altogether what's happening." _Come up with a lie quickly! _"Dumbledore says it may have something to do with Voldemort. That he... uh... can read my mind!" _What the fuck am I saying?!_

Ron stared at Harry with a slightly gaping mouth.

"What..?"

Harry bit his lip and sat down on the bed with fake frustration, although a part of it was real. If he kept on lying like this to everyone, someone would definitely discover this stupid act!

"I know... it's just _horrible_," Harry muttered, not really knowing what to say. "That's why I've been acting a bit strange lately." Ron nodded, looking scared and worried.

"I understand... but why won't you tell Hermione about this?" At that Harry had no idea what to say. He stared at Ron for a few seconds before giving a small cough.

"Um, well, she would just get worried. You know what she's like..." It was a lame excuse, Harry was aware of that, but he didn't have time to think of something better to say. "I don't have the energy to deal with her right now."

Ron nodded with an understanding, pitying look on his face. Harry let out a small sigh of relief.

"I understand mate. Well, I'll see to it that Hermione doesn't bother you anymore."

Harry nodded tiredly and quickly changed into his pajamas.

"I'm tired. I need to sleep," Harry murmured and realized how true it was. Acting "normal" the entire day was getting on his nerves. He felt completely drained. He crawled under the blankets and pulled the curtains. With the last of his energy, he whispered a silencing charm and a locking spell. He closed his eyes and sighed. Finally he would get some sleep.

_"Harry Potter." _The mirror that was neatly placed on Harry's pillow suddenly gave off a blue light and Harry's fatigue was blown out the window. He sat up and gripped the mirror tightly. Voldemort's face came into view and Harry smiled weakly, a real one this time.

"Tom..." he whispered. Voldemort gave him the usual cold stare, but there was something akin to pity in those red eyes.

"Does it hurt, Harry?" the dark wizard asked, actually sounding somewhat concerned. Harry swallowed and nodded.

"Yes... it hurts," he replied, but tried to sound stoic. "I can handle it though. Don't worry about me, my Lord." Voldemort blinked slowly at this and the cold stare turned into a longing one.

"We will meet shortly, Harry," he said darkly. "I won't let anyone stand in our way."

In that moment, Harry would've given anything to be able to kiss those pale lips. To fall into his Dark Lord's arms... the longing grew into pain and Harry gave a small whimper. He pressed his clammy forehead to the mirror, but never broke eye contact. Voldemort had retreated to coldness, and merely stared at Harry and his obvious pain.

"This better be worth it," Harry whispered. "I don't even understand why you want to get into Hogwarts anyway. Why can't I just come to you? Wouldn't it be more convenient if I just ran away from here?"

Voldemort sighed and shook his head.

"You're still too naïve, Harry. Do you really think that Dumbledore wouldn't be able to stop you if you were to run away?" the cold voice was almost mocking, and Harry blushed angrily.

"I've run away before!" He muttered. Voldemort gave a hissing chuckle.

"Yes, but this is different. As I previously told you, Dumbledore knows exactly what you are. He knows about the demon blood that runs in your veins. You probably don't know about this, but Dumbledore has cast a special spell over you. You aren't able to come to me, because you are bound to a certain area. So far, you've only been able to go as far as to the magic village, Hogsmeade, haven't you? And in your fourth year, when I teleported you to the graveyard, I was only able to do so because the portkey more or less _dragged_ you away from the area," Voldemort muttered. "Dumbledore's magic is strong, but I don't think he was expecting you to get abducted in the middle of that silly tournament. To tell the truth, it was mere luck."

"Then why can't Nagini just bring me another portkey? Why must I risk my life for this?" Harry whispered, now feeling upset. Dumbledore had cast a spell over him?! An actual spell? Nothing made sense anymore! Voldemort closed his eyes, clearly frustrated with Harry's questions.

"That has many reasons. One; Dumbledore is more cautious now. He's prepared for a new portkey, since he now knows what could happen. Two; Anything that has been affected by my magic is unable to enter the school grounds. Three; As soon as Nagini has given me the piece of your soul, I will come to you, and I will rescue you. I will take you away from Hogwarts. But to break the spell that Dumbledore cast upon you, I must also be inside of that area. Do you understand now?" Voldemort gave Harry an intense stare. "You must risk your life for this, Harry. Because as it is right now, I can't come to you, and you can't come to me. That is why you must do this."

Harry nodded slowly. He understood now. Dumbledore had cast a spell over him, so that Harry wouldn't be able to leave. Dumbledore probably removed it during his summer break, since he was already protected by the Dursley's house. So the only thing to do was to give Voldemort a piece of his soul, so that Voldemort would be able to enter Hogwarts and remove the spell that Dumbledore had cast upon him. There was no other way.

"I understand," Harry said weakly and blinked. "Just... don't let me die."

Voldemort didn't say anything at first, then he gave a small smile. Harry stared at it, as if it would save his life, and realized that it was the first time that the Dark Lord had given him that kind of smile.

"I won't let you die."

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Harry put his head to the pillows and lazily gazed into the red eyes on the other side of the glass.

"I feel sick," he muttered. "And everything annoys me. Everybody disgusts me."

Voldemort nodded.

"It's a natural part of the process. Be patient. It'll be over soon."

Harry yawned and nodded tiredly. Suddenly he gave a small pout. He held up his hand to the mirror and showed the scars.

"Look what Umbridge did to me," he muttered. "She made me use a weird quill when I was in detention."

Voldemort frowned.

"Why were you in detention?" Harry sighed and gave and irritated frown.

"I was in the bathroom too long, and when she asked me what I had been doing I accidently... kinda, told her it was 'none of her fucking business.'"

Voldemort sighed frustrated and gave Harry a scowl.

"Didn't I tell you to act normal? Draw as little attention as possible, Harry," Voldemort hissed, clearly angry with the boy who lived. "If Dumbledore starts to suspect you, the plan might be impossible to carry out!"

"What was I supposed to say then? 'Sorry, professor, I was puking _blood_, because Lord Voldemort won't let me jack off anymore!'" Harry snarled, feeling somewhat hurt that Voldemort got angry at _him_ instead of Umbridge. Voldemort stared at the angry boy.

"You were throwing up blood?" He asked, suddenly sounding a lot calmer than before, ignoring Harry's interesting choice of words. Harry swallowed and nodded grumpily.

"Yes I did! I've been feeling sick all day long. I couldn't help it," he murmured. Voldemort sighed and had a hint of a gentle look.

"If you're already throwing up blood it means that your body is progressing. It's changing, from human, into demon. That's why your body is rejecting everything that is human right now. Blood, for instance. And the fact that you feel irritated all the time is probably caused by the sun. It's nothing dangerous, but your body simply does not like it anymore. When the process is over, you will feel a lot better. Your body is just confused at the moment."

Harry sighed and rubbed his dark eyes.

"I hate this. I want it to be over soon." Voldemort smirked at this.

"I will be sending Nagini to you soon. If your body's already rejecting blood, it means that the process is almost complete. And your eyes are looking a lot darker than before."

"Really?" Harry smiled, feeling too tired to grin as widely. Voldemort nodded.

"Really. Now go to sleep. You look as if you need it."

The face disappeared from the glass and Harry scoffed annoyingly before settling on his pillows.

"Couldn't even say 'sweet dreams' could you?" Harry muttered, but inwardly snickered at the mere idea of Lord Voldemort saying 'sweet dreams' to anyone. It was honestly rather silly.

tbc.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Stay alert for the next chapter! Action coming up. And some confrontation with friends and teachers who are starting to realize that there is something different about Harry. Draco and Blaise will also play a big part of the next chapter, because Harry needs their help to steal the Slytherin-knife.

Please review. I'll update as soon as possible. If there's anything you're wondering about, don't be scared to ask.


	9. Chapter 8

I do not own Harry Potter.

I own the plot of this fic and any character that might get involved that is not from the original book of J.k. Rowling or anywhere else. I would also like to remind you that if you steal this fic from me, it's against the law and you shall see my wrath. I _hate_ people who steal my fictions. It's simply pathetic.

Warnings; Yaoi (japanese concept for men having sex), Dark!Harry, vampirism, ooc-ness, violence/black magic, blood and gore. (All of this might not get involved in this particular chapter, but I just wanted to make sure. Are you sure you have the guts to read further? snigger)

Chapter eight.

* * *

The word had been spread throughout the school, there wasn't a student who didn't know about it by now; Dolores Umbridge had fallen into coma, caused by black magic. Or well, in fact, no one was certain that black magic was actually involved, but it seemed highly likely since she was, after all, a teacher in a school containing solemnly wizards and witches. Not to mention, she was incredibly disliked by everyone, except for Argus Finch and a few of the Slytherin students.

At first, Harry had been amused by the rumors. People were saying crazy things, for example that the pink teacher had been attacked by the cats on her plates. That was one of the rumors that amused Harry the most, since it was the rumor that was most unlike the truth. That is, unless you thought that Harry looked like a kitten.

A few days ago, however, people started to become more reasonable. Logical. Smart. It worried and annoyed Harry. Because someone suddenly remembered that Harry Potter had had a detention that night. And then the students, that Harry started to despise more and more, started to remember Harry's foul mood that day. And people started to realize that Harry might have been the last one to see Umbridge awake and well.

So, suddenly deciding to prove the intelligence that Harry thought was missing, people started to suspect that Harry had done something _bad _to the teacher that everyone hated.

Hermione was constantly giving Harry glances and peers whenever she thought he wasn't looking. In fact, at more than one occasion, Harry was able to see everything that was going on around him. It was as if the world slowed down a tad, and everything was going in slow motion. However, it was only when Harry felt weaker than usual that the world around him slowed down.

Like now, for example. Once again sitting in the dark classroom of potions, Harry rubbed his tired, darkening eyes. He was trying to write down how to cure a disease caused by the bite of a dworf. Harry felt annoyed and confused; why would a dworf bite anyone? Don't they live under ground? The whole thing was so pointless.

"Would you _please_ stop staring at me?!" Harry snarled at Hermione as he caught her ogling once again. The girl blushed and quickly snapped away from Harry as he frowned angrily at her.

"So-sorry..." she mumbled. Harry huffed to show exactly how irritated he still was with the brunette. He felt an elbow prod at his side and turned to Ron who was frowning slightly.

"Take it easy on her, will you?" Ron whispered and gestured to Hermione who was hiding behind her unruly hair. "She's just worried about you. You know that, Harry."

Harry sighed frustrated and nodded, only so that he wouldn't have to argue with the red-head. He simply didn't have the energy. That was how it had been the last couple of days. Ever since the incident with Professor Umbridge, Harry didn't care to waste energy on the ones who tried to approach him, either to congratulate him on cursing the hated teacher, or to hiss insults about black magic. Students had been doing that for over two days, and Harry was already tired of it. He didn't care about the students who thought he was brilliant, because they had no idea what his true intentions had been at that time. And he didn't care about the so-called insults about him being some kind of evil wizard, since... well, that was more or less true.

He closed his eyes as a hot wave of displeasure washed over him and made him want to vomit again. He had already thrown up that day, and his throat felt sore and slimy. He hadn't eaten very much that day either, and with a shudder Harry remembered the strange mess that had forced its way up his throat. It was yellowish and gooey. And once again, there were stains of blood included.

He hadn't seen or heard from Nagini yet, and he was starting to feel more than a little impatient. However, Harry was also starting to feel excited. His eyes were darkening with each day and they were now almost completely black. It was only when the sun gleamed over them that you could still see some signs of green yet lingering in the black pools. That was why Harry anticipated Nagini's arrival. If she wasn't here when it was time, who the hell would bring Harry's soul to Voldemort? He didn't have the time in the world, and quite frankly, he didn't feel like waiting a minute longer than necessary. He was longing so much for Voldemort it felt like his mind was falling apart. Where was that damn snake?!

To put it short, Harry was currently in hell. The whole school suspected him of attempted murder, and even though no one really mourned the loss of the awful D.A.D.A. teacher, everyone simply assumed that Harry had used dark magic. Which was appreciated by the Slytherins, which was odd since they had seemed to be the only ones who could stand Dolores Umbridge, and it was looked down on by the rest of the school. Not that Harry cared about popularity; he would be out of school pretty soon anyway. But the fact that he was already annoyed _before_ the stupid Umbridge-rumors started, didn't make things easier at all. Now people wouldn't stay away from him, or leave him alone, save for at night.

Not to mention the fact that Professor Snape had suddenly started to have an unnatural interest in Harry, and kept watching him closely as soon as they were in the same room. Harry could feel the eyes of the potions master upon him during breakfast, lunch, or whenever Snape and Harry met in a corridor. It was clear that the teacher was suspecting Harry. Voldemort wouldn't be happy about it. That is, if Harry were to tell him. Which he didn't plan to do, unless he felt that the situation got out of hand.

And Harry was running out of time. He had to find _and _steal that stupid knife that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. The knife that could cut souls. His body was getting weaker with every day. He had to act soon.

When the dreadful potions class was finally over, Harry slowly walked out of the room, trying to find a solution. He couldn't steal the knife himself. He was too tired and worn out to do that. He needed help, and he could not ask Hermione and Ron. If he were to explain that he needed the knife of Salazar Slytherin, they would undoubtedly ask why, and he couldn't possibly tell them that he would first almost kill himself with it, and then cut off a piece of his soul and send it to Voldemort so that he could get into the school area and take Harry away from there, never to return again. Oh dear. And hopefully, he would survive. Hopefully, Nagini would be able to get to Voldemort in time. Harry couldn't deny it; he was scared. Terrified.

If Nagini didn't get to Voldemort in time, who knew what would happen? Or what if Harry accidentally cut off the wrong piece of soul?! There were so many things that could go wrong, Harry sometimes doubted his own and Voldemort's sanity.

So who could he ask? Who knew about his state already, and who knew how to find and steal a Slytherin artifact?

A sly smirk appeared on Harry's features as the answer came to him. It was so obvious; he was almost ashamed that he hadn't thought of it earlier. Now he just needed to find them.

Draco and Blaise. The two people who knew about Harry's state, and who wouldn't mind helping him achieve his goals. The in-the-closet gay couple of Slytherin. Now where could they be? Harry had seen them during the potions class, but they had left much faster than Harry. Harry strolled to the part of Hogwart's where he knew that a lot of Slytherin students usually hung out after class; the lower level.

Just like the Gryffindor's usually hung out close to their common room, the Slytherin's were likely to hang out closer to the dungeons, since other students or teachers seldom went there. Harry immediately felt out of place while walking around in the dimly lit corridors. There were torches on the walls and to Harry's surprise, it wasn't nearly as cold as he had expected it to be.

Now all he had to do was find the couple. Fortunately enough for Harry, he still remembered the time when he and Ron transformed into Crabbe and Goyle in their second year. He still knew exactly where the Slytherin common room was. However, he doubted that Draco and Blaise would be found there. They were trying so hard to keep their relationship secret, it would be foolish to snog in the common room where anyone could catch them red-handed. If they _were_ making out at all, that is. But somehow, the way they had hurried out of the potions classroom before everyone else seemed so sneaky, it made Harry almost positive that they were up to something.

Ah, there it was; the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Harry stopped and stared at the dark entrance. He wouldn't go in. Well, in fact he didn't even know how to get in. Something he did not mourn. Compared to Gryffindor's cozy, comfortable, red and golden common room with a huge sparkling fireplace, the Slytherin common room could be mistaken for the North Pole with it's black, silver and green furniture and cold atmosphere. Truth be told, Harry wasn't altogether sure which common room he preferred.

Harry was just about to turn back and look for the Slytherin couple somewhere else when he heard a distant sound. Whimpering? He looked from one side to the other, eager to find the source of sound when he noticed that a part of the dark wall on his left was slightly odd in color from the rest. It was a minimal difference, and no one else would probably have noticed it. The bricks seemed to be a brighter shade of gray than the rest of the stone wall. Harry put his hands to it and frowned. It didn't feel as solid as a stone wall was supposed to. The odd area seemed to vibrate with magic, as well. A silencing charm? Harry pressed himself firmly to the wall and held his breath. Maybe... he would be able to...

After pressing himself against the wall for a few seconds, he smirked. He _was _able to hear what was going on, despite the obvious silencing charm. Harry marveled at his own hearing improvement. It was faint noises, but Harry could hear everything quite clearly. A smug snigger emitted from Harry's throat. Slytherins could be quite naughty.

"Haa...! Blaise! Y-you promised not to try anything... out here ... ah!" Draco whimpered, sounding embarrassed, but aroused. Harry could hear how Blaise sniggered.

"Oh? But that's not what your body seems to want, Draco..." he purred, and Harry smirked at the aroused smugness in his voice. It was actually quite thrilling to listen to what the boys were doing, since it was clear that they did _not_ want anyone to hear. It was forbidden to eavesdrop, after all. Without a doubt the Slytherin boys were still 'in the closet'; no one must see their intimate snogging. They were obviously hiding. Harry knew that the door was locked without even trying to open it. He wasn't even sure on how to open it, since there wasn't a doorknob. Crossing his arms over his chest, Harry leaned against the door, still pressing his ear to the door.

"B-but! Ah... oh! Blaaise..." Draco moaned, and made it clear exactly how much he was enjoying whatever it was that Blaise was doing. "N-no! Where are you touching?! D-don't look..."

"Don't deny it, Draco... it's already dripping... you really want it in, don't you?" Blaise drawled, dragging another aroused moan out of the blonde who was obviously losing his willpower to resist his boyfriend. Harry snickered at how easy it was to seduce Draco. If Harry wasn't already so addicted to Voldemort, he would probably try and steal the blonde away from Blaise. However, even though Harry had doubted it in the beginning, he knew that Draco and Blaise really loved each other. Despite these sadistic ministrations, it was obvious how much pride Blaise took in Draco. And it was more than enough to make Harry envious. Why couldn't Voldemort be more like Blaise? If Voldemort treated him more like Blaise treated Draco... that'd probably be real nice. Tender, lovingly...

Harry was so caught up in Voldemort drenched thoughts that he almost forgot about Blaise and Draco. He pressed his ear against the door once more, and continued listening.

"We can't _do it_ in here! Blaise, you idiot!" Draco whimpered and was clearly trying to fight Blaise. "E-even though we put up a charm... someone might catch us... what if Snape shows up?"

"But you like this feeling, don't you?" Blaise purred and Harry could hear licking, suckling sounds. It was enough to make Harry feel quite excited himself. "The feeling of maybe getting caught... turns you on, doesn't it?"

"... Yes... I-it feels good," Draco murmured quietly, sounding rather dazed, as f he wasn't altogether aware of what he was saying, and Harry had to concentrate to hear. "Blaise..." Harry could hear the smacking sound of lips sucking at each other. Envy raised in his chest again. He hadn't had the chance to even kiss Voldemort yet. Such a simple, but wonderful act, and he hadn't done it! God, he couldn't stand this anymore! He didn't want to hear anything more, afraid to get aruosed, and he needed their help now! Ignoring the fact that he would be interrupting something very private, Harry pointed his wand to the door, hoping his simple plan might work.

He murmured a quiet, "_Alohomora._"

The stone door clicked and Harry smirked. For being a secret room with a locking spell, it was pretty damn easy to break into. He understood why Draco was so worried about someone walking in on them. Then again, the entrance itself was pretty hard to detect, and people just don't shoot off an _Alohomora _to an ordinary stone wall, do they?

He slowly opened the door and soundlessly slipped into the room, then he closed the door behind him just as quietly. It was about the same size as the bedroom he had inherited from his cousin Dudley. The room was completely dark save for a small candle on a table. Next to the table was Draco, pressed up against the wall by a licking and nibbling Blaise who had one hand inside of Draco's pants. The blonde was more or less writhing in pleasure as the dark-skinned boy caressed his pale side with his free hand. Blaise thrust softly against Draco's hips, and the Draco responded by sighing in delight and meeting his lover's slow, sensual thrusts.

They were both half-naked, Draco wearing only the standard black school pants, while Blaise was wearing the same pants and a white shirt that had been unbuttoned.

Harry was just about to give a smug comment and startle the boys, because that would without a doubt have amused him quite a lot, and somewhere in his mind he thought they deserved it for showing their affection for each other so openly and shamelessy, stubbornly ignoring the fact that he was irrational; It was, after all, he who had broken into their hiding place.

But just then, Blaise brought his hand to Draco's cheek and stroke his thumb over the pale, pink-tinted skin. Draco opened his eyes dazedly and stared at Blaise. Harry, still well-hidden within the shadows, was completely unnoticed by the boys. He stared in awe as Blaise leaned forward to capture Draco's lips with his own. Draco's eyes drifted closed again, and he brought his thin arms around Blaise's chocolate-colored shoulders. Blaise's shirt started to fall off and were now down by the boy's elbows as Draco struggled to get it off altogether. They massaged one another's lips gently, lovingly, and Harry, steaming with jealousy, more or less _ogled_ the passionate kiss. _Will I ever be able to do that to Voldemort?_

Then, at last, he gave a cough.

The slytherin students flew apart and stared wildly around the room to find the source of sound. They finally noticed Harry, who irrationally enough was starting to feel neglected. Draco gave an audible swallow and quickly picked his shirt up from the floor as Blaise buttoned his own white one.

"P-potter!" Draco hissed, clearly pissed with the Gryffindor golden boy. "You could have knocked!"

"Yes, but where's the fun in that? Besides, I doubt that you two horny bastards would have heard it, even if I did knock," Harry drawled, without a trace of amusement in his voice. He stared at the Slytherin students, emotionlessly, as they dressed hurriedly. His eyes narrowed a little when Draco helped Blaise to button the right holes. Draco gave a small laugh.

"You always button this one wrong..." he murmured and corrected it for Blaise who smiled down at him. Harry felt neglected again. He knew that it was only because he longed so passionately for Voldemort, but honestly, the knowledge of what was annoying him didn't make things better. He didn't want to watch the display of affection, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the image. He wanted Voldemort to look at him like that. He wanted Voldemort to hold him like that, to kiss him like that...

"I need your help," Harry muttered after almost ten seconds of intense staring. Blaise and Draco looked up with confused, almost suspicious looks.

"Oh?" Blaise said and gestured to the chairs surrounding the table. Harry took a seat and so did Draco and Blaise.

"Yes. Because you two are currently the only ones I can trust," Harry said quietly. "But first I want to know something." He looked intensively at Blaise. "How come you know so much about the vampiric virus? How did you know I was one of them? The only one that seems to know anything at all about the virus, besides Dumbledore, is Snape, and even he doesn't seem to know all that much."

Harry had been wondering about these things for quite some time. It was strange how the Slytherin boy knew so much about them, when even Severus Snape himself only had diffuse facts to go on. Blaise sighed and rested his elbow on the table. He seemed to think about whether or not to tell Harry.

"You know," Blaise said after a while. "A lot of people have asked me... 'How come your eyes are so blue? How come your eyes look like that, when your skin is dark?'" Blaise looked up and met Harry's gaze. Harry stared into those icy blue eyes, and realized that it was indeed an odd eye color for someone with such dark skin. They gleamed in Blaise's face, like two diamonds. "But I can never tell them the truth." Blaise gave a short laugh. "The only ones who know about it, are Draco... and my mother."

Harry blinked, feeling confused.

"You're saying... you have the virus too?" He asked, absolutely baffled. Blaise gave a weak smile.

"Not in the same way as you do. The virus is in my body, but it won't activate."

"Why not?" Harry asked, and a wave of curiosity welled up inside of him. He always knew there was something different about the dark skinned boy. Blaise sighed.

"Because the virus was given to me. In your case, the virus was born and created in your body, it was decided that you would have the virus. You were born with the virus, as a hidden part of your being," Blaise explained. "I was also born with the virus, but it was forced upon my body. You see, when my mother was pregnant with me, she got bitten by one of your kind. An Egyptian wizard who was born with the vampiric virus had transformed fully into a vampire, and he attacked my mother when she was in Africa, visiting her family."

Draco stared into the candle as he explained to Harry.

"My mother wasn't affected in the same way as me. Her body almost didn't change at all. She can grow small fangs if she feels threatened, but that drains her almost completely out of energy, so she almost never does it. However, for some reason, her abilities in dark magic improved considerably. I suppose you've heard the rumors about my mother?"

Harry shrugged and nodded shamelessly. A lot of people knew the myth behind Blaise Zabini's mother. She was a widow, had been married to very rich men seven times, and the men had all died mysterious deaths, leaving Blaise's mother with huge amounts of money, giving her the pun-like nickname The Black Widow.

Blaise smirked as Harry nodded.

"Well, I won't explain further," he said. Harry felt annoyed; he wanted to know if the rumors were true or not! But it was clear that Blaise wasn't going to tell him. "Anyway, since the virus doesn't really belong in my body, it won't activate. I _could_ turn into a vampire, if an original vampire bit me, but... It wouldn't be the same. And Draco can't turn into a vampire, since he's a wizard, so..." Blaise trailed off, and the last words seemed to be murmured to himself. Harry slowly blinked and gave Draco a glance. The pale boy stared down at the table and refused to look at anyone else. For some reason, there was a hint of guilt in those grey eyes. Harry paid it no further thought. He turned back to Blaise who seemed to be a bit stuck in his own thoughts.

"I guess that explains it then..." Harry said and Blaise looked up. He nodded.

"Yes... when my mother realized that there was something different with me, she contacted all sorts of witchdoctors. They discovered that the vampiric virus had somehow got stuck in my body. So when I grew up, my mother taught me everything I needed to know. But turns out I'm not really very special after all. Despite the powerful virus, I am still a mere wizard."

"Indeed you are," Harry said coldly and ignored the small flinch Blaise gave, and the upset look Draco gave him. "I'm sorry, but I don't have much time. I really do need your help." His voice softened. "Please, help me." Blaise and Draco peered at Harry, looking curious.

"What is it, then?" Draco finally asked. Harry opened his mouth, but... he didn't know what to say, where to begin.

"I... I need something. Something the belonged to Salazar Slytherin," he said. "I need the knife that belonged to him. And I don't have much time." Draco blinked and leaned forward.

"If you want our help, you have to explain; exactly what are you planning to do with a Slyhtherin artifact?" Blaise nodded and stared intensively at Harry, who suddenly felt a bit cornered. "You said you could trust us, didn't you?"

Harry sighed. It was pointless to lie to the people who were going to help him.

"I need it, because it has the ability to cut souls. I need it, because I have found my soul mate, and we can't reach each other as it is now. I can't go to him, because I am trapped here like some fucking princess, and he cannot enter this school," Harry spat haughtily. "So I have to cut off a piece of my soul and send it to him, so that he will be able to come in. And take me away from here."

Blaise and Draco stared at him, almost as if he was insane.

"You've found your soul mate? You've actually found another wizard with the vampiric virus? Who is it?" Blaise whispered excitedly. His blue eyes shone brightly in the dimly lit room, and Draco bit his lip in anticipation. Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath before whispering his reply.

"His name is Tom Riddle."

Silence. Harry slowly opened his eyes, and met the shocked gaze of Draco. No wonder, Harry thought. Draco's father had been the right hand of Voldemort, so there was really no big surprise that Draco had come to find out about Voldemort's true name. Blaise, on the other hand, only looked confused, and looked at his boyfriend, then at Harry, and back at Draco again.

"Who's Tom Riddle?" Blaise asked, obviously unaware of Voldemort's true name. Draco swallowed.

"T-tom Riddle? Your soul mate is Tom Riddle?" He let out a nervous laugh. "How ironic."

Harry laughed too.

"Ironic indeed," He said. Blaise was getting annoyed.

"Who's Tom Riddle?" He asked again, and glared at Draco for not telling him. Draco smiled softly.

"Blaise... it would seem that Harry's soul mate is none other than the Dark Lord himself." Blaise's eyes widened and his breathing quickened. He turned to Harry who was staring back at him, daring Blaise to laugh or say it was impossible. But Blaise grinned and leaned forward excitedly.

"You! I knew... My mother always told me that the Dark Lord was one of them! But that you of all people would be his soul mate!" He exclaimed and gave a disbelieving chuckle. "That you would actually be the mate of Lord Voldemort... is just extraordinary," he whispered in awe. Harry stared at him, quite surprised that Blaise had actually said Voldemort's name.

"I'm glad you feel that way," he said sarcastically, smirked and gave a small snort. "But as I said, I need your help. I don't know where to find the knife and I don't know how to steal it. And I'm in a hurry."

Draco and Blaise smirked.

"The knife of Slytherin is in a locked casket in the Slytherin common room. The key is in the headmaster's office, where it has been ever since Slytherin himself was alive. It's the headmaster's duty to protect and guard the key, so that no student would be able to open it, since the knife is completely stuffed with dark magic. And to be able to open, you must say a few words in that snake-language that you speak."

"Parsel Tongue," Harry corrected and Draco nodded.

"Yeah. So basically, all you really have to do is to steal the key from Dumbledore, and you'll be able to open the casket. I think."

Harry smirked.

"That doesn't sound too hard, does it?"

* * *

The three boys left the small room, and Blaise went off to change his shirt. Harry and Draco watched as he opened the entrance and went in. They waited for him. Then suddenly, Draco was facing him, and Harry blinked. It looked as if the pale boy wanted to say something. He was biting his lip before opening his mouth.

"Um... Potter... I-I need to ask something," Draco muttered, obviously annoyed by his own timid behavior. Harry quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh? Shoot."

Draco swallowed and glanced over his shoulder as if confirming that Blaise wasn't on his way back yet. He wasn't.

"I was just wondering... um, would it be possible... I mean, do you think you could ask..." Draco sighed frustrated and seemed to give up his entire pride. "Look, I know that Blaise wants to activate the virus in his body. I know him well enough to be able to tell..." Draco glanced over his shoulder again. "If he got bitten by a real vampire, he could probably transform into one. But I can't." Draco sounded almost bitter as he said this. "I wasn't born with the virus, and unlike Blaise, I haven't had any kind of contact with the virus what so ever. It's impossible for me to turn into a vampire as I am now."

Harry cocked his head to the side. He felt confused. Why was all the Slytherins so bad at explaining what they really meant? Draco sighed.

"Thing is... Potter..." a soft, but still dead-serious expression graced Draco's features. "I love Blaise," Harry's lazy eyes went wider as the pale boy blushed and forced himself to go on. "I don't want to be the one holding him down. I have told him that it's okay with me, if he chooses to leave me to become a vampire. But he won't have it," Draco laughed softly, and Harry was shocked to see this serious, emotional side of Draco. "He got mad at me for even suggesting it. He loves me. So he refuses to become a vampire, because he knows that we would have to leave each other."

Harry leaned his back to the wall, put his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes. The sadness in Draco's voice was honest. For some reason, during the four and a half years he had spent on Hogwarts, he had come to believe that the Slytherins were incapable of loving another person. They always acted so coldly towards everyone. It almost annoyed him, how Draco was so open about his love for Blaise, because Harry certainly wasn't used to it.

"And?" Harry asked after a few seconds. "What does it have to do with me?" Draco directed his gaze to the floor and took a deep breath.

"Please... as compensation for helping you... would you please ask the Dark Lord if there's a way for me to become a vampire?" Draco gave Harry a pleading look, once again shocking Harry. "I know it's probably impossible, but the Dark Lord is so powerful... he might know something! I-I need to know. If there's the smallest chance for me to transform, I'll take it. For the sake of Blaise."

Harry blinked slowly and pushed off of the wall. He took a step closer to Draco and peered down into that sad, but determined face.

"You would leave your family behind, you would sacrifice your humanity, just for the sake of Blaise?" He asked, and heard that behind the coldness in his voice, there was bemusement. Draco nodded slowly and stared intensively into Harry's eyes. Harry smirked.

"I'll see what I can do."

The happiness that seeped into Draco's eyes was enough to force Harry to look away. He was confused. And annoyed by his confusion. After all, seeing Draco smile like that was enough to make anyone confused. It was as if the Malfoy boy was actually human, and not demon, as he seemed determined to make everyone believe.

How come the humans had such power? Emotions... Love. It was indeed powerful. The love he held for Vold- Tom. Tom Riddle. Harry thought about it. A painful sting of longing shot though his chest. How he longed for Tom...

"Let's go," Blaise said when he finally came back, and Draco nodded happily. Blaise shot the smiling boy a confused glance. Draco smiled contently to himself as they walked through the dark corridors. Harry watched them from behind as the Slytherin couple started chatting a little while walking. Harry smiled. He couldn't quite explain why, but something about them made him feel... _happy_. A feeling he wasn't used to these days.

He wanted to help them.

"Oi, Potter," Blaise said as they passed by the dining hall, where most students were eating dinner by now. Harry could hear the chinks of forks and knifes and the chatting of random students. He turned his attention to the dark boy. "Do you even know how to get into Dumbledore's office? From what I've heard, the headmaster's office is the room that's hardest to break into in the entire school." Harry closed his eyes, as a wave of nausea coursed through him and he shuddered.

"Yeah," he muttered, feeling sicker by the minute. "I know how to get in." Truth to be told, Harry was worried about that part, too. They were about to walk up the stairs when suddenly a nervous girl's voice stopped them.

"Harry."

Harry stopped in mid-step and sighed, while closing his eyes again. He was not in the mood for this, nor did he have the energy to deal with Hermione's motherly mood. He turned to face her, fixing his face into a carefree expression to make her worry less, but he was shocked to see that Hermione was now pointing her wand against him. Harry gaped as Hermione stared intensively at him, her wand trembling a little, but she held it in a firm grasp and Harry knew that Hermione was a very talented witch, even though she hadn't really been doing a lot of dueling.

"What's this about?" He asked, wildly bemused by Hermione's behavior. Hermione took a deep breath.

"Something is wrong with you. You're not the Harry I know." her words trailed off to mere whispers and she obviously tried to prevent herself from crying. Harry swallowed, feeling sick, and annoyed, angry, but at the same time he pitied Hermione. The dark shadows under her eyes made it obvious that the girl had been worried for quite a while.

"I'm Harry," Harry said. "I'm Harry Potter. I am the one you met five years ago, on the train, with Ronald Weasley. The first thing you said to him was 'You've got dirt on your nose,'" Harry said, and Hermione was staring at him, in an almost insane manner. Her wand shook.

"D-don't say things like that! Shut up!" She hissed and took a step closer. "I know that something is wrong. I _know_! Why won't you tell me?" Hermione's eyes gleamed with tears as her face was filled with an expression of despair. "You're not Harry, are you?" She gave a shaky smirk that looked rather odd on her usually gentle face. "Y-you've just taken his appearance. I've figured it all out! You're not Harry!"

"Hermione-" Harry tried to calm the girl down but Hermione gave a loud wince and stomped her foot on the ground.

"Don't say my name as if you're actually him! You're just an imposter, aren't you?"

"Herm-"

"AREN'T YOU?!"

Harry panicked when he saw how Hermione gathered magic in her wand, ready to shoot it off at any second. He reached for his own wand, and was pleased to find that he managed to pull it out rather quickly. He pointed the wand at Hermione who was staring at it, then at Harry's expressionless face, and then back at the wand. Her lips quivered.

"D-demon," she said quietly. "Demon!" She repeated, louder this time. Hermione gave a flick to her wand and Harry watched as the spell came flying towards him. He ducked, and without thinking, he pointed the wand to Hermione and roared a spell of his own.

"Sectumsempra!" In the second he said it, he felt terrified and immediately wished he could take it back. He had no idea where the spell had come from, it had just popped into his mind. But he knew that it was an evil spell. No... It wasn't even a spell, it was a curse. So he watched, mesmerized, as the curse flied towards Hermione who stared at it with large eyes. But just as it was about to hit her, it went off in another direction. Harry stared wide-eyed as the curse was sucked into the wand of Severus Snape. He was incredibly relieved that the curse hadn't hit Hermione, but the outrageous look on Snape's face was enough to make anyone feel sick to the stomach. Snape put away his wand and gave Harry a hiss.

"Come with me, Potter!"

Harry sighed. There was no running away. He took a deep breath and put his wand in his pocket. Hermione stared at him, sniffing and sobbing, as he went past her without so much as a glance.

tbc.

* * *

Hmm, okay I admit, there wasn't as much action as I thought it would be. The action won't come until the next chapter I think. I hope you liked this chappie, though, and I'm sorry about the wait. School is, as usual, killing me. Me and eight other girls in my class are working our asses off with a new street choreography, cuz we'll be going to Germany in a few weeks to perform in Berlin. The choreography is awesome, but very complicated. So we have to practice a lot in our free time as well. That's why I haven't had much time to write this chapter.

And in this one, I gave a little treat to all the Blaise/Draco-fans out there. I hope you enjoyed that part. I'll try to write the next chapter as quickly as I possibly can! Until next time, dear readers, Ta ta.

(Please Review, ffs.)


	10. Chapter 9

I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

I do own the plot of this fic and any characters that might become involved that are not from the book or anywhere else. Are we clear? Good.

a/n: God, I am SO sorry for the extreme delay. I know I haven't updated in like...uh, two months. Believe me, I have my reasons. It wasn't my intention to make you guys wait. I've said before that school is killing me, right? Well... just when I thought that the worst parts of my junior year were over, turns out the torture only just started. I've been to Germany to perform, I've had more tests than I can count, my homework's piling up, and on top of that, my teachers want me to start practicing a lot more with the flute and the piano, because apparently I'm so bloody talented, they want me to sing (opera for crying out loud!), dance, play the flute AND the piano at the classical concert in May! pant pant

I have never been so insanely busy in my entire life. Plus, the juniors in my high school have to do a special individual project. And, being the overly enthusiastic fool that I am, I chose to write a book. Yeah, a fantasy novel (gay ppl involved, of course.). Not that I mind, I have the plot in my head and as you all know, I do love to write. But as I'm sure you understand... I just don't have the time to update as often as I used to. And for that, I apologize. I wasn't prepared for the second semester of my junior year to be so stressful. God, I miss being a sophomore.

But hey - I'm not a quitter. And this is one of my personal favorite fics. So don't give up on me, ok? I will definitely finish this fic. I promise.

Okay, the usual warnings; yaoi (c'mon, you should know what that is by now), Dark!Harry, Dark Magic, Blood and Gore.

Here we (finally) go! Chapter nine.

* * *

Harry swallowed nervously and threw a glimpse at Snape's whirling cloak as he tried to keep up with the teacher, who more or less ran through the large corridors. He had never truly feared Snape, and ever since the whole thing with Tom started, the small remains of Harry's fear for Snape had completely disappeared, probably due to Voldemort's deep hatred for the man.

But this time it was different. Very different. And Harry had no idea why it was so different, but he knew that it was. And something kept telling him that it had something to do with the curse; that new, strange curse that had just popped into his mind. _Sectumsempra._ Well, of course it had something to do with the curse, anyone would get punished for cursing another student, but Snape had looked furious when he had sucked the curse into his wand. As if Harry had been close to killing Hermione, which wouldn't surprise Harry too much.

He remembered exactly how scared he had felt as he shot off the curse at the brunette. In the very second he had said 'sectumsempra', he knew that it was a real bad curse.

And now Harry felt weak and terribly worn out. His body felt like it weighed twenty pounds more than usual and his head was pounding badly enough to make Harry rather dizzy. He managed to keep up with Snape though, and after about two minutes, they finally reached the potion master's room. Snape flung the door open and went in, obviously expecting Harry to follow him. When inside of the darkly lit room, Harry's narrowed eyes suddenly widened when sharp fingers cut into his arm and forced him to sit down on a hard chair. Snape's face was paler than usual, but with angry red spots here and there.

"Where did you learn that curse?!" The teacher hissed, obviously enraged, and Harry felt somewhat disgusted with how scared he felt, and also because he was involuntarily showered in Snape-spit. "Tell me where!" Snape shook his shoulders and if he was going mad. Harry groaned when the pounding in his head increased.

"I don't know!" He yelled, almost feeling panicked as the pain increased. "I don't know, it just came to me!" God, anything to make the insane man let go of him. Harry knew he should've come up with some sort of a lie, but he couldn't think of anything, and what the hell would he say? That he had found the curse in a book? Judging from Snape's reaction, the curse was obviously not something that students were supposed to know about, and therefore, not something that Harry could've snatched up in the school library, for instance.

The iron fingers slowly let go of Harry's sore arms, and the The Boy Who Lived quickly massaged the sore areas with his hands, more or less hugging himself, shaking and suddenly starting to feel oddly cold and clammy, as if he was coming down with a fever.

"You," Snape hissed and leaned in close to Harry who gave a disgusted frown. "... Lie!" Harry gave him a hateful glare, and for a second Snape looked sligthly taken aback, as if he saw something that scared him in the depths of Harry's dark pools.

"I do not," Harry answered, trying his best to sound stoic and angry, but his voice was weak and shaky and Harry cursed mentally. "I swear, I don't know what happened."

"It just popped up in your head? Is that what you're saying?" Snape was starting to look rather mad, his black hair ruffled and his dark eyes wide open. "You think I'm an idiot?"

Before Harry could stop himself, he smirked and sniggered, despite the incredible pain in his head.

"Oh, I wouldn't know, would I?" He drawled and rather enjoyed the shocked look on Snape's face before the potions teacher's face once again scrunched up in utter rage. Harry didn't even have time to yell out in pain when Snape slapped him hard across the cheek and then grabbed his chin to make Harry face him again, after having his face thrown to the side.

"I'm no fool, Potter," he spat and Harry felt sick to the stomach as Snape's spit once again landed on his face. "I _know_ something changed," Snape said with a look of triumph on his face. "I know."

Harry blinked and refused to answer. Even if he did want to answer, it would probably prove itself to be impossible, since Snape was still gripping his chin. An inexplicable anger welled up inside of him as he stared into the black depth of Snape's eyes. God, how he hated this man. He wanted to hurt him... kill him! But the more Harry's yearning to hurt the other man grew, the weaker he felt, and as Snape's grip seemed to harden, he suddenly felt dizzy. Before he knew it, his vision went black.

* * *

_What's happening... where am I?_

_I sense... fear. How delicious... Someone is afraid of me._

_Of me?_

Harry snapped his eyes open and was about to get up from the chair, but realized with a cold start that he was no longer in control of his own body. And he wasn't sitting on the hard chair anymore. He was standing up, and even though Harry couldn't control his body, he could feel the dark energy that flowed through his veins. And he stared, through his own eyes, as Snape backed away from him, with large eyes filled with anger and fear.

"Don't think for a second that you will get away with this Potter!" He sneered, and Harry noticed that he was cradling his arm, and blood seeped though his pale fingers. Harry felt confused and rather panicked. Had he done that to Snape? Just a few seconds ago, he was sitting down and he didn't even have enough energy to open his mouth! What the hell was going on?! He wanted to ask Snape what was happening, but as he opened his mouth, other words than he intended to say came out.

"Oh, I believe you've seriously misunderstood. It's you who are getting punished, Snape."

And in that instance, Harry knew who that was. Someone had taken over his exhausted body, and now he knew exactly who it was. He would recognize that cold attitude and tone of voice anywhere. A wave of love and gratitude welled up in Harry, as he realized that Voldemort had taken him over, to protect him from the grim potions master. In Harry's weakened state, Snape would've easily been able to do whatever he pleased with the The Boy Who Lived. More importantly, Harry would probably not have enough time to steal the knife of Slytherin, if Voldermort hadn't helped him.

_Thank you..._ Harry whispered and settled, calm and content with letting Voldemort handle the situation.

Snape stared at Harry, who at the moment was Voldemort, and swallowed hard. It made Harry smirk.

"Who are you?" Snape took another step back and grasped his arm tighter. "You're... not Potter, are you?"

Voldemort gave a cold chuckle and swayed Harry's wand in front of the pale face.

"And you're not quite as idiotic as you look, are you?" The chuckle died, and instead Voldemort gave the teacher a hard glare. "You betrayed me once, Severus. I will not let you harm me, or my property, again."

"Y-your property?" Snape hissed out, while his black eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. "Lord Voldemort? Is that you?" The last words were barely audible, and the look on Snape's face was one of utter horror. Voldemort blinked slowly, and didn't even bother to smirk.

"None other."

And with that, Voldemort lifted Harry's wand, while Harry himself lurked under the surface and watched with great satisfaction as Voldemort finally whispered the curse so many wizards and witches feared.

"_Crucio_."

The teacher cramped and jerked on the floor, and the pained scream that erupted from Snape's mouth was enough to make Harry's heart leap excitedly, and before he knew it he gasped and was suddenly in control of his limbs again. Shakingly, Harry sunk to the floor, panting and coughing. Snape lay on the floor, unmoving with the exception of his heavy breathing, and something that resembled sobbing. Harry gave his teacher a disgusted glance before getting up from the floor. He felt stronger now, as if he had taken a short nap to gather strength.

"Potter, you..." Snape panted, obviously still in pain. He gave Harry a shocked look, and Harry saw fear and panic in those eyes. Snape thought he was going to kill him. Oh, but Harry wasn't going to. No, he was going to let Snape live. Live in fear of Harry. The enjoyment Harry got out of it... the terrified, shocked look on Snape's face was like a drug.

"I do apologize, professor," Harry drawled with an amused smirk. "He doesn't like it when other people touch his stuff." And with that, Harry fixed his necktie, turned around and walked out of the dark room, leaving Snape alone in his terror. Harry heard a thud, and realized that Snape had passed out. He gave a silent chuckle and kept walking. He was in a hurry, and was definitely not in the mood of taking care of the unconscious teacher.

Now, where were Draco and Blaise?

* * *

Harry was running now, because Draco and Blaise weren't where he had left them - where Hermione had claimed that he was a demon... which actually wasn't too far from the truth - and now he felt slightly panicked. The small amount of strength he had gathered was already starting to leave his body, and in a desperate attempt to save energy, Harry slowed down and settled with jogging.

However, just as he went past the library, he heard familiar voices and before he knew it a brown hand had already pulled him in. Harry noticed that no students were in the library except for them, and realized quickly that it must be late afternoon already. Blaise stared at him with something that resembled worry in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked, and Harry nodded grumpily.

"I'm fine. Where did you guys run off to anyway?" He glared a little at Blaise who shrugged with an apologizing look on his dark face.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but Hermione Granger is a rather talented witch, even though she happens to be a mudblood," Blaise said with a matter-of-fact voice. "So, combined with her brilliant mind and her current obvious madness, I'd say only a fool would interfere in a fight like that." Harry saw the logic, but still felt annoyed and somewhat betrayed. "Then Snape came along, saved the mudblood from that weird curse you cast, and then dragged off with you while looking as if he was about to kill you. Me and Draco do want to help you, but it'd be kinda stupid to get ourselves killed before we even had a chance to do that," Blaise explained, before Draco interrupted them by holding up a pale hand in front of Harry's face.

"How many fingers do you see?" Blaise glared a little at his boyfriend, and Draco shrugged with a face that said 'What?' Harry sighed.

"He didn't beat me up or anything," he said and gave Draco's hand an amused look. "So my eyesight is just as good as ever." Draco pursed his lips and lowered his hand.

"Are you sure? Cuz... well, your eyes are starting to look rather weird."

Harry's heart leaped upon hearing this. His eyes were starting to look weird? In what way? God, he wanted a mirror! Anyhow, Harry realized that time was seriously running out.

"We have to hurry," Harry said and exited the library, assuming that the Slytherins would follow. "We have to go steal the key now!" Draco and Blaise quickly caught up to him and together they marched to the headmaster's office, without anything that even resembled a plan.

As they arrived to the stairway that led to Dumbledore's office, Harry stopped, panting a bit from running through the long corridors. Blaise and Draco stopped as well and looked at Harry who was leaning on the wall while grasping at his heaving chest.

"We need... to think this through," Harry panted, and sunk to the floor. "Dumbledore's strong, and in my current state I won't even be able to cast an _expelliarmus_."

Blaise sat down next to him and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry about that," he said and smirked at Draco then crossed his arms over his chest. "Dumbledore won't be able to stop us. I'll handle it." Harry quirked an eyebrow and snorted.

"Uh-huh, that's some great self-esteem you got there, but just out of curiosity; How the hell were you planning to do that? In case you didn't know, Dumbledore's one of the most powerful wizards in the world!"

Draco laughed softly which made Harry glare at him weakly. The blonde sat down as well.

"You should trust Blaise," Draco smirked. "Thanks to the vampire virus, Blaise is able to create a special dark energy that's similar to black magic. Honestly," Draco shot a look at Blaise. "We don't know if it'll work yet, but if we're fortunate, Blaise will be able to make Dumbledore temporarily blind."

Harry turned to Blaise with wide eyes.

"Is this true? Why didn't you say so earlier?" Blaise shrugged.

"We were about to tell you, but then that mudblood decided to attack you and then Snape came and... well, you get the drill."

Harry felt a small tinge of jealousy course through him and he frowned.

"I don't get it... My virus actually belongs in my body, but you always seem to know so much more than me. I haven't noticed any kind of improvement when I'm performing dark magic." Blaise got up from the floor and glanced towards the stairs before turning back to Harry.

"That's because our situations are so different from each other. Even though technically we have the same virus in our bodies, we're developing differently. You'll start to discover new abilities eventually, but right now your body has only just begun to develope into something that's not human." Blaise chuckled. "Besides, how much dark magic have you performed in your life, compared to me? My mother has taught me everything I need to know." Harry sighed in defeat and nodded, still feeling rather jealous of Blaise.

"Uh, guys... we should probably get going," Draco said and got up from the floor, looking slightly nervous.

Harry nodded and got up from the floor, while trying to suppress the waves of dizziness. His eyes were starting to hurt. Just as they were about to enter the stairway, they realized it was impossible.

"What the hell?" Blaise snarled frustrated. The stairs were almost two meters above the floor. The reason they hadn't noticed it before was probably because someone enchanted it with an illusion. Harry sighed with annoyance. His legs were already shaking from the exhaustion.

"Great. Just great!" He snarled and leaned on the wall again. "Now what?" If he had been a bit more energetic, he would've realized how irrational he was behaving. It was, after all, he who needed their help to get inside of Dumbledore's office, and yet he acted as if _he_ was the one getting dragged along. Blaise sighed and put his hand to the rough stone material of the wall.

"I dunno-"

"Shh!" Draco put his finger in front of his mouth and turned around. "I think someone's coming," he whispered. "We should hide!"

Blaise and Draco helped Harry to hide behind a big pillar, and then they waited. Soon they could hear hurried steps coming towards them. Soon they stopped, and when Harry finally peeked out, he saw that it was Professor McGonagall who had arrived and was now standing in front of the stairway. She looked a bit confused for a second, as if she couldn't remember the password. Harry smirked and turned to Blaise who smirked in return then nodded at him and raised his brown hand to be ready.

As McGonagall finally seemed to remember the password she raised her hand towards the stone stairs and opened her mouth.

"Chocolate Frog."

In the same second as the stairs started to lower itself to the floor, Blaise's hand shot out as he murmured something in a hissing language that resembled Parsel Tongue. Black lightening shot out from his hand and went straight to McGonagall's chest. The elderly teacher sunk to the floor with a small gasp. Harry smirked, pleased with Blaise's work.

"She's not dead, is she?" Harry asked as they went past the unconscious woman on the floor. Blaise shook his head.

"Nah, she'll come around in about three or four hours."

Harry stared at McGonagall for a second; her gray hair splayed out on the floor, her neat, elegant dress wrinkly and disorganized. A sharp sting of guilt burned in his chest, but he ignored it. Even though his heart was still that of a human's, and thus he could actually still _feel_ for the poor creatures, he longed for Voldemort with every fiber of his being.

They ran as quietly as they could up the stairs, and when they finally stood outside Dumbledore's door, Harry felt sick and dizzy.

Blaise leaned in close to Harry and whispered, "I'll go inside and pretend that I want to talk to him about school work, and when I give the signal, it means that I have succeeded to cast the illusion spell upon him, and you can come in."

"What's the signal?" Harry asked and felt worried when he heard the tired tone in his own voice. His head hurt so much!

"When I say, 'Your beard is so white,' then you'll know."

Harry scoffed, "What a weird signal."

"Yeah, well I don't have time to think of anything better," hissed Blaise and gestured for Draco and Harry to hide behind the door as Blaise opened it to step inside. "Professor Dumbledore, I would like to speak with you for a minute."

Harry heard the soft singing from Dumbledore's beautiful phoenix, and the faint murmur from the slumbering former headmasters on the walls.

"Oh? What about, Mr. Zabini?"

"U-uhm... Well, I just thought I'd... um..."

Harry felt like smacking his forehead. Blaise hadn't thought of anything to say yet! Idiot! What if Dumbledore saw through the act?

Blaise went silent for a few seconds and then said, with stronger voice, "Your beard is so white!"

Harry's heart leaped and he glanced to Draco, who also looked a bit annoyed with Blaise's current lack of intelligence and acting skills. Never the less, the blonde opened the door carefully and peeked inside before turning back to Harry, smirking.

"It's working," he said quietly. "We can go in now."

Draco opened the door, went in and Harry followed. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, politely looking at Blaise who was started to fidget as he remembered that he was supposed to say something. Harry stared at Dumbledore who obviously was completely oblivious of Draco's and Harry's presence. As he crept by the headmaster, Harry couldn't help but to wave his hand in front of Dumbledore's face. Dumbledore didn't even blink. Harry bit back a chuckle.

"I'm glad you're having fun, but shouldn't we look for the key now?" Draco raised an eyebrow to Harry. Harry nodded and started to look around for something that looked like a key.

"You think he's keeping it well hidden?" Draco asked. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean, he knows what I am, and I know that I've been acting a bit strangely, which means he might suspect something. If that's the case, then he's probably keeping it well hidden." Draco sighed and massaged his temple. "Then again," Harry continued. "That'd be a long shot for him, huh? He can't possibly know about Voldemort's plan, and besides, he doesn't know we're here so-" Harry stopped talking when he looked over at Draco.

Draco's gaze had stuck on something on Dumbledore's desk. The blonde smirked, walked to the desk and picked the object up while sniggering to himself.

"Well, that wasn't very hard." A small silver key with a black ribbon tied around it dangled from Draco's finger. "I'm almost disappointed." Harry stared at the key and barely noticed how the corners of his mouth went upwards.

"Mission accomplished then," Harry snickered and turned to Dumbledore. He looked at the white beard, the moon-shaped glasses and the kind eyes. Harry hated it all. He hated the fact that this kind man was the one who was trying to ruin his life. Not only had Dumbledore kept from Harry his true heritage, but he had also tricked Harry into believing that Voldemort was his enemy and that Harry should kill him, while in actuality Voldemort was the man Harry was destined to be with. Dumbledore knew all of this. He had deliberately tried to keep Harry from being who he was supposed to be. No wonder his whole life had been a fucking mess.

So Harry, who was now dizzy and even weaker than before, took one step towards Dumbledore, smirked and lifted his hand. Then he made a fist, and let the middle finger stand up. After the rude gesture, Harry felt more content and walked out of the room.

_You've lost, old man. Just watch me. _

Blaise, who had been stuttering about everything, from Defense Against the Dark Arts to 'What nice weather we have today,' saw that Harry and Draco left, and he quickly finished his conversation with the headmaster before exiting the room.

"That was a close one," Blaise panted while they were running away from Dumbledore's office as quickly as they could. Draco was supporting Harry, who was starting to see double.

"A close one?" Harry murmured. "Why's that?" Blaise wiped some sweat from his forehead.

"Hey, I may be a good wizard, but to pull out that much dark energy at once... I was about to faint! And I couldn't think of anything good to say. I thought for sure he was gonna see through it!"

They stopped as they finally reached the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Draco let Harry lean against a wall, and Harry immediately slid to the floor. Draco turned to Blaise and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You did well," he said and gave Blaise another kiss and then turned to the gate. "Pureblooded."

The door was opened and the Slytherins went inside while Harry waited outside and tried to gather enough energy to stand up. The Slytherins soon came back, Draco carrying a small chest in his thin arms. He chuckled softly.

"Imagine... This chest has been in there for ages and yet no one knew what it was fo- Harry, are you okay?"

Harry sighed and nodded, even though he was far from it. He stood up on shaky legs and grasped at the wall behind him.

"I-I'm fine," he murmured. Then suddenly he felt a wet sensation on his cheek and he brought a hand to the side of his face. Was he crying? No. He stared at the tips of his fingers. They were covered in blood. Harry felt his throat contract at the smell and before he knew what he was doing, one of his fingers was already sliding against his tongue. The taste was spicy, metallic and oh-so delicious. Harry would've purred out of raw pleasure, but just then he realized he was acting like a drug-addict getting a fix for the first time in two weeks. He coughed a little and wiped the blood off on his robe.

"Sorry," he said stiffly and glared at Blaise's amused-fascinated look. "Let's just open the chest."

The Slytherins agreed and Draco brought out the key from his pocket. They sat down in a ring on the cold stone floor and put the chest in the middle. Draco brought the key to the lock and put it in. Then he turned it around and a small 'click' echoed through the corridor. Harry could feel how his heart started to pump faster. The short kick he had gotten from licking his own blood was rapidly going away and Harry was starting to feel drowsy again. But his eagerness to see the insides of the chest won over his fatigue. Blaise audibly swallowed and opened the chest with slightly shaking hands. He exhaled loudly when he saw what was inside and Draco smiled. The Slytherins turned the chest around, so that Harry could see what was in it.

Harry could've started crying when he saw it. The blade was pure silver; even an amateur could see that. The grip was dark, shimmering green with amazing silver and black details; leaves, magic symbols and elegant lines. Harry carefully picked the beautiful knife up and took a firm grip of the hilt. He gave a sad smile.

"It's beautiful." He turned to Draco and Blaise. "Thank you for helping me. I promise, I won't forget this." Harry gave Draco a look and the blonde smiled weakly back to him. "Now. I must leave. I have to do this alone. Just..." Harry sighed and stood up on wobbly legs, slightly staggering before managing to regain composure. "Keep your fingers crossed for me." And with those words, he walked away from the Slytherin boys. Blaise and Draco stared after him before glancing at each other. Draco smiled slightly to Blaise and took his boyfriends hand. They got up from the floor.

"Let's hope he succeeds," Blaise said before walking into the Slytherins common room, tightly gripping Draco's hand. Draco turned his head and watched as Harry walked around a corner.

"Yes. Let's hope he does."

* * *

"_Nagini_!" Harry roared in Parsel Tongue. Where the hell was that damn snake?! If she didn't show up soon it'd be too late! Harry was getting weaker and weaker with each passing second. Now he was in the girls' bathroom, where Moaning Myrtle was haunting the toilets with her whimpering cry. She wasn't there now, thankfully. Harry was sitting on the floor and resting his head against the cold wall. He was starting to panic, but he just didn't have enough energy to show it. He glanced at the knife in his hand. It was indeed very beautiful. He wondered what it would be like to slice his wrist up with that perfect silver blade.

Harry shuddered. He was scared. So afraid that he trembled and shook and even cried blood. The bloody tears hadn't stopped falling from his eyes, and the white floor was now stained with red dots. He blinked slowly and could hear how his breathing echoed in his head. It was getting bad. His eyes were completely black now. And not just the iris, no... the entire eye had gone black, and Harry was starting to see weird things. One second, the bathroom looked completely normal, and the other second it was black and purple and he thought he could see eyes looking at him from the corners...

"_Nagini..._" Harry whimpered desperately. "_Come to me. NOW!!"_

"_Master._"

More bloody tears fell from Harry's eyes as Nagini's hissing voice came from his left side. Though he didn't have the energy to look at her, he knew that she was there. She slithered to his feet and gave him a look of utter pity.

"_I am sorry, Master. I could not find you. I was assuming that you'd be in the room where you sleep, but I was mistaken._"

"_Obviously._"

Harry saw the small bottle the snake was wearing around her neck and he gave a tired smile. She was ready. Now all he had to do was his part of the plan. To almost kill himself. Fantastic.

"_Master Harry?"_ Nagini cocked her head to the side. Harry blinked and scrambled the last of his energy to sit up and nod.

"_Be ready... I-I don't want to die. If you screw this up, you'll be sorry." _Nagini gave a hissed laughter, which sounded odd coming from a snake.

"_I already know that much, sire. Master Tom had told me several times that if you die now, he will kill me as well._"

Harry felt a warm sensation spread from his chest, and before he knew it, he was smiling. And with the last of his energy he raised the knife high, and held his wrist out. The he stabbed the wrist with a pained roar and watched as the crimson fluids gushed from the open wounds. He pulled the knife out, whimpering with pain and leaned back against the wall while waiting for his body to be emptied.

He was starting to feel cold. But he didn't freeze. It was more of a numbing sensation. It was as if he couldn't move, because all the remaining energy left him along with the blood. His clothes were wet with blood, and the white floor was now covered in redness. Harry could hear his own heartbeat slow down, and the world was falling into soft slow motion. And then something happened. Something amazing.

It was as if he was looking at his own ghost. Before him stood a spirit... it was pale and purple, and resembled a ghost and yet not. Harry noted that the ghost-like thing seemed to be stuck to Harry by his feet. And the ghost looked just like him. Even the scar on the forehead was present. The ghost had no expression on his face, he was just looking at Harry, who was still sitting on the floor feeling dazed and drugged and numb.

_My soul?_

Then Harry saw a small piece stuck to the sleeve of the ghost. It looked like a glove that had been sewn onto the fabric, but Harry wasn't sure, because, unlike the actual soul of Harry, the hand-like thing looked blurry and it was in a shade of blue, while Harry's soul was purple. Harry smiled to himself. It was the piece of Voldemort's soul...

He gestured for the soul to come closer, and the soul obliged, still without showing any signs of emotions in his face. Harry lifted the knife and grasped the hand of his soul.

"I hope this doesn't hurt." he murmured and cut the hand off. The soul's eyes widened a little, but he quickly went back to being emotionless. The hand didn't bleed, it just lay like cotton candy in Harry's hand. Then the blue, blurry hand of Voldemort's soul broke free from the sleeve and went to replace the now missing, purple hand of Harry's soul.

"_Nagini..._"

Nagini slithered quickly to Harry who put his soul's purple hand in the bottle around her neck with trembling hands. His vision started to blur. How in the hell was that snake supposed to make it in time? Harry had no clue. And he didn't have the strength to think about it either.

"_Please... hurry."_

The snake slid away and Harry stared after her. He was dizzy, tired, hurting like hell, cold... he was drenched in his own blood. He could feel the sweat run down his face and mix with the bloody tears that had dried there. He glanced to his abused wrist. The wound disgusted him, so he turned his gaze away again. He wanted this to be over already. He would almost prefer death over this slow torture.

And he longed for Voldemort.

He imagined red eyes, broad shoulders and long, black hair. The longing in his chest turned into a miserable ache and before Harry knew it, he was sobbing. He slid down the wall until his whole body was resting on floor in a rather uncomfortable position. Sobs wracked through his body and his head hurt so much Harry thought he would throw up, even though he had nothing to throw up anymore.

And he was cold.

And numb.

_Tom... Hurry up. I want to see you... I don't want to die..._

His lids slid shut.

tbc.

* * *

Stay alert, ok. And please; review ffs.

Again; I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope you liked this chapter.

Yes, I know that this is not what it's like in the book, but hey - didn't I tell you that this is Harry Potter á la Ciiah?


	11. Chapter 10

I do _not_ own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

I do own the plot of this fic, and any term or object I use in this fic that doesn't come from the books by J.K.Rowling is also my property. If you steal this fic from me, it's against the law, and I'll see to it that your account is erased. Believe me, I've done it before, I can do it again.

Warnings; the usual stuff, Yaoi (slash), Dark!Harry, Vampirism, dark magic, extreme ooc-ness, etc.

Okay, since I made you guys wait so insanely long for me the last time, I decided to be a good author and update in time!

I'm on spring break after all, so I thought 'why not use my spare time and spoil my starved readers?' And so, here I sit, in my bed, with my laptop in front of me. This chapter is gonna be good. Believe me.

Here we go! Chapter ten!  
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_Am I dead?_

'Tha-dump.'

_Heartbeats? _

'Tha-dump, tha-dump.'

_Oh... not dead then. _

_Then... where am I?_

It hurt. Everything hurt. And yet... he could not feel anything. His body was numb. And he could sense the coldness of the stone floor seep into his limp body. How long had he been in there? Shouldn't Nagini be back soon? He was dying. Would he ever be able to see Voldemort? To kiss him? To touch him?

Oh great, now his heart started to ache, too. And he felt annoyed. It was all Nagini's fault. Stupid snake. Because of her daftness, he was now bathing in his own blood, alone, in the middle of night. Maybe it was morning? He felt pathetic.

Then suddenly a wave of fear welled up in him. Maybe... maybe it was all a trick. Had Voldemort tricked him? Made Harry believe in him, to fall in love with him, just so that Harry would help him to get into Hogwarts? Maybe he was going to let Harry die here, since he had fulfilled his part of the evil master plan. Maybe this was what Voldemort had planned all along, ever since he first planted a piece of his soul in Harry.

Oh God, why hadn't he realized it before?

Harry couldn't think straight anymore. The loss of blood made his head spin and he didn't even try to open his eyes. His body felt heavy, so he didn't try to move it. He just lay there, waiting for death to arrive. Or some poor student. He was sincerely hoping for death.

His breathing was slowing down, as was the rest of the world. Everything fell into slow-motion. If Harry had had the energy, he would have smiled.

_This is it. I'm dying. _

"_Master!"_

Harry's heart made a painful leap at hearing Nagini's hissing voice not even two inches from his ear. He cracked his black eyes open and felt like weeping as he did so. They hurt so badly. The blood that had earlier gushed from his eyes had dried around the lids and now they stung and burned when he tried to get a better look at the snake next to him.

"_N-nagi...ni...?" _He croaked and blinked in a desperate attempt to make his eyes cooperate with him again. Soon, he could see the blurry image of yellow eyes and dark scales. "_You're late," _Harry whispered, not having energy to make the words come out stronger than that. Nagini's tongue shot out from his mouth and almost immediately went back in. She didn't say anything at first.

"_You are dying."_

_"Yes."_

He closed his eyes again. The snake was annoying him. He already knew that he was dying. To state the obvious was just a waste of time. Not that time mattered to him anymore. But the snake didn't seem to be willing to leave Harry alone. She prodded his side with her nose.

"_But you cannot!"_ She hissed, almost sounding angry with him. _"If you die, then Master Tom will kill me, and then he will die as well!"_

_"But it's too late... I'm too tired to even move, Nagini. I'm sorry,_" Harry apologized. But the snake still didn't want to listen to him. And she showed him exactly how desperate and angry she was with him by burying her sharp fangs in his side. And Harry screamed.

"_Let go of me!"_ He snarled and grabbed her head to make her take the fangs out of his sore flesh. The snake let go and when Harry glared at her, she seemed to glare back.

"_If you really loved Master Tom, you would not give up so easily! You would not allow death to take you yet."_

_"But I'm telling you, it's too late. I'm too tired, I don't have the energy." _Harry wanted to shout back, showing his anger, but it only came out as soft slurred words. The anger bubbled inside as the snake smirked.

"_Is that so? Then how come you are suddenly able to sit up?"_

Harry blinked. He was sitting up? He looked down and realized that he was indeed sitting... or something similar. His back was leaning on the wall, and he was barely able to keep his eyes open, but nevertheless, he was sitting up! Harry realized that Nagini must've bitten him to make his body angry. To activate the adrenaline. And now, while holding on to the smallest amount of energy, Harry was no longer on the verge of death.

"_Th-thank you..."_ he said to Nagini who only nodded as a reply. Harry looked around and frowned. "_Where's Tom?"_ Nagini hissed and seemed to shake her head, making Harry realize that a new bottle was tied to her neck.

"_Master Tom will explain everything to you later, but right now, we are in a hurry! Drink the content of this bottle. Now!" _She shook her head and managed to make the bottle fall off. Then she took the bottle in her mouth and placed it on Harry's shirt which was drenched in crimson blood. Harry stared at the bottle for a second before he, by pure willpower, managed to lift his hand and grasp the bottle. The content was warm... A potion? Harry didn't really care. What really mattered, what really made him want to keep on living was knowing that he would be able to see Voldemort soon!

So with trembling fingers, Harry brought the bottle in front of his face and took the stopper away. Then he brought the bottle to his pale lips and tilted it, so that the liquid flowed into his mouth, and his eyes snapped open. Blood! It was warm and alive and it was blood!

Harry felt how a wave of burning hot energy flowed inside of him as he greedily sucked the warm blood into his mouth. He had never tasted anything similar. It tasted so good. Metallic, spicy... and it was hot. The warmth spread from his tongue and throughout his entire body. He could feel his cheek heat up and his legs and arms started to move more freely. His vision came back, so he could now see Nagini clearly. She was giving him a knowing look as he drank the blood with great enthusiasm. It was like a drug. Harry couldn't stop drinking!

When he was finally done, he put the empty bottle down, panting from the frantic drinking without pause. He turned to Nagini.

"_I want more._"

The snake seemed to give him a hissing chuckle which once again sounded extremely odd coming from a snake.

"_Master Tom said that you would probably say that. I am sorry. You cannot have more at the moment."_

Harry sighed disappointed and licked his lips. He could hear how the blood thumped in his ears. What an amazing drink it was. Harry practically glowered with energy and for the first time in weeks, he felt satiated.

"_What was that? It tasted so... spicy. It didn't taste like human blood."_

Harry started to feel oddly sleepy. As if he had drunk warm milk instead of blood. Nagini smirked.

"_Vampire blood."_

Harry froze and stared at her as it felt like she had thrown an icy dagger into his heart, numbing him with shock. It was vampire blood? Voldemort had given him vampire blood? Why the hell would he do that?

_-Flashback-_

_"...However, for a _wizard _to become a vampire, you must be born with a special vampiric virus, then you must get bitten by a true vampire to activate it. This means that you don't need to drink the blood, the bite is enough to transform you."_

_-end of flashback-_

_"What?" _Harry's voice trembled with anger. Nagini backed away, carefully looking at Harry who was now giving her a cold stare. _"Why? Tom told me that I don't need to drink the blood to transform..."_

The snake blinked slowly and gave a breathy sigh, which made Harry slightly irritated. She acted as if he was a small child that didn't understand anything.

"_It's so that your body will be ready for the real transformation. I wasn't supposed to tell you about the plan... Master Tom will come for you... And he will bring someone who will change you... They will explain to you why you had to drink the blood now. The blood will change you, but you won't become a complete vampire. For that to happen, you must get bitten, and you must get bitten within three days, or else the vampiric blood in your body will start to destroy the vampiric virus, your body, and you will die."_

_"You're telling me I'm about to change? Now?" _Harry could feel his heart start to pump faster and his breathing quickened.

She gave a small, pitying nod and Harry shut his eyes while trying to stay calm. But it was easier said than done. He didn't want to change yet. Not yet! Not like this! Not drenched in his own blood, in the middle of night, alone, in a freakin' school toilet! The image seemed terribly awful. He had pictured himself being turned into a vampire many times already... but not like this. Not yet!

But Harry soon realized it was too late to regret drinking the blood.

He was already starting to feel drowsy. It was the same feeling as being on the brink of death, but this time he was warmer, and not nearly as numb as before. This time, he could feel everything.

His body hurt. A lot. His arms started to cramp. As did his neck and soon his legs. And it felt like someone was cutting Harry's stomach with a large knife. Panic welled up in his chest as he could feel his heart slow down and his head being invaded by needles. And Harry sobbed in his dizzyness. He felt sick. The taste of blood in his mouth was suddenly sickening and he regretted every drop!

He didn't want this yet! Not yet!

Not yet!

* * *

"... certainly explains how he has been acting..."

"... Cannot give you more information than this. It's classified..."

What was going on? Harry could hear voices. Calm, but not happy voices. Worried, disturbed voices.

"... I don't understand! Why is this happening?!"

Sobbing voices joined in.

And more voices of authority.

"Only Professor Dumbledore can tell you about it, I'm afraid... I'm not allowed to say anything about it."

"Maybe it has something to do with he-who-must-not-be-named...?"

"Shh!"

Harry felt sick. He had been listing to people talking for the last couple of hours, but he still couldn't figure out what was happening. He really wanted to open his eyes, but they hurt too much. So instead he stirred and tried to turn his head a bit to be able to swallow. His mouth felt dry. For some reason, that seemed odd. Hadn't he been drinking something just a few seconds ago? He couldn't remember what it had been, though. Water? No...

Harry snapped his stinging eyes open, ignoring the tears that started to flow due to the pain and sat up in his bed. In his bed? He stared wildly around and realized that he was in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey came rushing to his side as she realized that he was awake.

"Mr. Potter! You are awake!" The elderly woman put a cool hand on his burning forehead and Harry hissed as an incredible headache suddenly struck him, making small stars dance in front of him. Harry shut his eyes, trying to ease the pain, but slowly opened them again as he heard voices closing in on him and the sound of feet gathering around his bed. With a strange dizziness mixed with nausea Harry groaned and finally opened his eyes once more to be able to see the obvious crowd around his bed.

"Harry!" The first person Harry saw was Ron, who was pale, sweaty and looked as if he was about to faint. Harry blinked with confusion as Ron sighed with relief and sat down on the side of Harry's bed. The red head gave Harry a shaky smile. "Thought we'd lost you, mate."

Harry blinked again and grimaced slightly when he tried to sit up on the soft mattress. Ron was quick to help him, constantly giving Harry worried glances, as if Harry was of the verge of death.

"Why would you lose me?"

"You tell us!" Ginny, who was behind Ron, shouted with a tone that sounded upset. Angry even. "Harry," she continued and kneeled beside the bed while staring at Harry with large, brown eyes. "Did we... do something wrong? Why... why didn't you tell us that you felt so depressed?" She visibly suppressed a sob and made Harry frown, even more confused than before. What in the world were they talking about?

Harry glanced at the remaining crowd and saw that Hermione was at the end of his bed, dressed in hospital clothes, refusing to meet Harry's gaze. Professor McGonagall was standing behind her, and Harry couldn't help but to feel relieved that the old woman was up and about again. Neville was there, too, as was Luna, Dean Thomas and, to Harry's surprise, Draco Malfoy. Ron kept giving the Slytherin angry glances, as if Ron suspected that it was Draco's fault that Harry was in the hospital and that Draco was now here to admire his work and mock Harry.

Draco was biting his lip slightly and gave Harry a serious, slightly worried look, silently asking if he was alright. Even though Harry still couldn't remember why he was where he was, or why his head was hurting so much, he gave a short nod and a barely visible smile. Draco swallowed and gave Harry a small smile back before turning his back to him and walking out.

"Harry..." Ron frowned a little. "Do you... can you... Did you even know what you were doing?" He stammered, looking more worried and desperate than ever.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny snapped and gave her brother an angry look. Ron glared fiercely at her.

"Well, I was thinking maybe someone had put a spell on him or something... to make him-" Ron stopped in mid-sentence and glanced nervously at Harry. "Mate... can't you just tell us why the hell you did that?" He asked and the begging tone in his voice was obvious. Harry glanced at Hermione who was hiding her pale face behind her brown, thick hair.

"What are you talking about?" Harry drawled, starting to feel annoyed. Had he made some mistake and gotten injured in a Quidditch game? But that didn't make sense either. Harry hadn't been playing Quidditch for a long time, and nothing on his body hurt. Except for his head…and his wrist.

His wrist?

Harry turned his head and stared at his arm. His wrist was covered in bandages and it was partly hidden under the blanket. He shuddered and touched the white fabric around his skin with his other hand. The burning sensation was suddenly very intense, and Harry hissed. Carefully, he removed the bandage, and no one stopped him, even though he could clearly see the worried and nervous glances they all shared, as if they were asking each other if it really was such a good idea to let Harry remove the bandage.

But as soon as the last piece of fabric fell off, it was already too late for anyone to protest. Harry swallowed hard and stared at his abused wrist. The wound was still fresh, but there was no more blood flowing from it. The skin around the wound was red, blue and purple. Harry also noticed that it felt weird to move his fingers. When he frowned at this, Madam Pomfrey took a step forward.

"It's because we had to repair some of your joints that got cut off when you-" she stopped talking. Harry didn't say anything. He just kept on staring at the wound, keeping his face emotionless. No one spoke, and it was obvious that the others assumed that Harry was in deep shock. They were looking at him carefully, nervously, awaiting some kind of reaction from Harry. In fact, Harry had to fight to keep a straight face. His lips were struggling desperately not to break out in a big smirk.

It all came back to him. The knife... the soul... Nagini... And now Harry stared almost lovingly at the wound on his wrist. He had nearly died, but then he had drunk vampire blood that Nagini brought with her from... Tom. Tom.

It had worked! He had survived, and he had made it through the first part of the plan. Now he just had to wait for Tom. And put on a shocked expression. And so Harry swallowed again and took a deep breath. Then he pulled the blanket over his wrist and turned away while trying to look shocked, tense and slightly panicked. He obviously did a decent job, because soon enough Ron patted his shoulder with a nervous but comforting look on his face.

"It... It doesn't look that bad, mate."

"What are you talking about, Ron?" Ginny snarled and stood up from the floor and then turned to glare furiously at Harry. "Harry, you _stabbed_ yourself in the girl's bathroom! What the hell was that about? Huh?" She gave him one of those looks Mrs. Weasly used to give Ron whenever she really wanted a serious explanation. "Luna found you, completely _soaked_ in your own blood!"

Harry sent Luna a glance, but the dreamy Ravenclaw girl didn't seem to be all that traumatized. She just shrugged and nodded.

"It's true, you looked awful," she stated, matter-of-factly.

"You just be lucky no one else found you before she did!" Ginny gave an upset snort. "Or else the whole school would know it by now... _Harry Potter tried to commit suicide. _Terrific."

"It's my fault isn't it?" Hermione suddenly exclaimed and took a step backwards, away from the bed. Fat tears started to roll down her cheeks as the crowd around Harry's bed carefully watched her. "It's because of what I did, isn't it? I called you a demon!" She gave a sob and buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry!" She left the room while sobbing furiously. No one followed her and when Harry turned to Ron, the red-head merely sighed.

"She's been like that for a while now. After she attacked you in the great hall and Snape came to drag off with you, McGonagall did the same to Hermione. I think it's the first time Hermione's ever had a detention." Ron frowned. "And when she found out about _this... _she went... sorta nuts."

Ginny snorted.

"Well, you have to admit, you _have_ been acting weird lately, Harry! We're your _friends_! Why didn't you tell us?!"

_Oh well, play along._

"I'm sorry," Harry murmured and avoided Ginny's angry stare. Ron glared at his younger sister.

"That's enough, Ginny," Ron said, sounding a lot more strict than usual. "I think Harry's been through a lot. He doesn't need this right now."

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, clearly annoyed with her suddenly so mature brother. Harry sighed with relief. That's when Professor McGonagall came into the picture. She had been staying in the background the entire time, Harry realized, and hadn't said anything. For some reason, Harry felt as if he was about to get scolded by his grandmother for stealing cookies.

"That's enough everyone. Visiting hour is over." Madam Pomfrey shooed them away. Ron gave him a sad smile, Ginny gave him a worried glance, while Neville and Luna waved and left without much protest. When they had finally left, he realized that Professor McGonagall remained by his bed with a stern frown on her face. Harry swallowed nervously and squirmed a little in his bed. What if she knew that it was Blaise who had put her out before? And what if she knew that Harry had been with him at the time? And what if-

"You do realize that you have some explaining to do, don't you, Mr Potter?"

Harry nodded and leaned back on the large pillow, trying to look tired and uncertain. Well, in fact he _was_ very tired. He felt like he was having a fever again.

"How long have I been out?" His mouth felt dry. McGonagall gave him a stern stare, then took a step closer to the exhausted boy.

"Miss Lovegood found you yesterday morning. You've been unconscious for about forty hours." She pursed her lips and looked at Harry, as if she awaited some kind of reaction. She received none, as Harry merely yawned and closed his eyes.

"Gee, whaddaya know..." he murmured sleepily and peered at McGonagall who was starting to look annoyed. He gave her a tired smirk. "I must've been sleepy."

McGonagall huffed and flicked with her wand, so that a heavy object landed on Harry's blanket. Her eyes were cold as ice and Harry had to focus to keep a straight face. Even though it was currently covered with dried blood, anyone could've seen that it was Slytherin's knife, and Harry closed his eyes.

"Would you care to explain what this is?" McGonagall said, her usual calm eyes glowing dangerously. Harry had to force himself not to flinch.

"A knife, Professor," he answered and smiled as innocently as he could. McGonagall frowned.

"Don't play dumb, Mr Potter!" She snarled. Harry stopped smiling and replaced the innocent look with a cold frown of his own. "You know very well what I mean! Where did you get a hold of this?"

At this, Harry had no idea what to say. He suddenly felt angry with himself for not thinking the plan through. What in the world was he thinking? He should've realized it wouldn't be that easy! If anything, he should've realized that the task wasn't completed just because he had managed to steal the knife and send the soul-piece to Voldemort. Of course people would find him and ask questions. Then again, Harry had thought that Voldemort would come for him as soon as he got the soul-piece, but Harry still should've come up with a plan B just in case something went wrong! At least some kind of excuse!

WHY hadn't he thought of that?! If he had had the energy, Harry would've smacked himself.

"I... uh..."

"You stole the key to the Slytherin chest from Dumbledore's office, didn't you?" McGonagall frowned even deeper.

"No!" Harry exclaimed and turned his face away, panic rising in his chest. What should he do?!

"No." A new voice joined in the conversation. "It was me, Professor." Draco stepped out from the shadows. He had obviously been hiding the whole time. Harry stared at the Slytherin boy as if he was an angel coming to save him. Draco gave Harry a quick smirk saying 'You owe me', then he turned to McGonagall who also stared at the Slytherin with a baffled expression. "I stole the key, Professor."

"Mr. Malfoy...? But why-"

"Because I hate Harry Potter." Draco put on a cold look. "Blaise and I have seen Potter's gloomy looks... and we decided to give him a little push in the right direction." Draco's smirk widened. "It was easy."

"What... do you mean?" McGonagall looked from Draco, to Harry and back to Draco again. Draco closed his eyes and opened them slowly. He looked like pure evil, and Harry couldn't help but to notice exactly how attractive the blonde really was.

"Grown-ups can be rather ignorant. You didn't notice at all, did you?" Draco gave a low chuckle. Madam Pomfrey joined McGonagall who had a shocked expression plastered over her old features. "Gryffindor's golden boy has been depressed all year. Convincing him that committing suicide was the best option was a simple task. And my father really approved of my and Blaise's plan." The last sentence made McGonagall gasp.

"But..."

"I know, hard to imagine that two simple students could think of that brilliant plan isn't it?" Draco sighed. "Stealing Slytherin's knife wasn't very complicated either. It was right there on the desk. As I'm sure you already know, Blaise has a special kind of heritage." He leaned in closer to the shocked teacher. "We're the ones who put you out the other day. It was easy to break into his office."

McGonagall brought her wrinkly hand in front of her gaping mouth.

"But why... the Slytherin blade..?"

"Because Harry Potter is a Gryffindor. The Dark Lord was a Slytherin." Draco gave a low snigger. "To make the Gryffindor golden boy, the one who was going to save the world, the enemy of You-know-who kill himself with the _Slytherin knife_..." Draco closed his eyes and looked as if he was thinking of something very pleasurable, like sex. "You have to admit the thought is... thrilling."

The room was silent for a while.

Then McGonagall raised her hand and slapped Draco hard across the cheek. Harry flinched involuntarily and leaned into his pillows as far as he could. He tried to look shocked and innocent, but immediately got worried when he saw the pained face Draco made. His neatly combed hair was slightly ruffled, and the Slytherin didn't even have time to turn back to McGonagall before the furious teacher grabbed Draco's chin and made him hiss with pain. Harry could literally see how McGonagall's fingernails turned into cat claws that buried into Draco's skin.

Harry badly wanted the teacher to stop, but he couldn't give himself away. Draco's brilliant act would be in vain, and he couldn't, _wouldn't_ mess it up now. He hadn't come that far just to screw it up. So he forced himself to watch as Draco shut his eyes to prevent the tears from spilling. McGonagall's claws sunk into the pale skin, and it didn't take long before Harry glimpsed a small drop of blood seeping out.

"I should've realized that you had something to do with this, _Malfoy,_" McGonagall snarled and Harry's eyes widened. He had never seen the elderly teacher so angry before, and McGonagall was after all a generally strict woman. Draco tried to pry her fingers away but the old woman proved herself to be stronger than one would've imagined. Finally the woman let go, and Harry clenched his jaws when he saw the wounds she had caused in Draco's face. Blaise would not be happy. Draco glared hard at McGonagall who was breathing faster than usual.

"You're coming with me, Mr. Malfoy!" McGonagall hissed out. "We're going to Dumbledore's office right now, and you're going to tell him exactly what you just told me." She grabbed his arm and dragged him off, but not before Draco turned to Harry and gave him a wink. Harry gaped after him and mentally promised himself to make it up to the Slytherin boy who had come to his rescue twice.

"Mr Potter, drink this," Madame Pomfrey said, her voice slightly trembling, and held out a cup of medicine to Harry. The cup smelled like someone had thrown up in it, and Harry wrinkled his nose.

"No thanks..."

"It'll make you fall into a deep and dreamless sleep-" the teacher tried again, but Harry cut her off.

"I don't want to sleep!" He snapped and gave the nurse an angry stare. "I just want to be left alone." When she didn't leave at once, Harry gave her a hard glare. "Now."

The nurse swallowed and walked away, but constantly turned around to send him worried glances. Growling with annoyance, Harry turned his back to her and lay down on the hospital bed. Now what? What was he supposed to do? He had already been unconscious for over a day! What was it Nagini said... if the transformation wasn't completed in three days, he would...

... Oh fuck.

"Tom, where are you?" Harry whispered and stared at the star lit sky outside the window.

* * *

Harry sat up in his bed. He was wide awake, and he didn't even remember falling asleep. He threw a glimpse to the nightstand and the clock that was placed there. Two in the morning? No wonder it was quiet. Everyone else must already be asleep. So... why was he awake?

Harry blinked to make his vision clear, and was mildly surprised when the room suddenly got brighter. He could feel how his pupils widened and adjusted to the darkness and for a second he felt thrilled at the obvious improvement of his eyes. But just then, he could see the tall silhouette of a man at the end of his bed. His heart leaped and Harry crawled backwards.

"Who's there?" he asked, trying not to sound too scared. The person was wearing a black cloak with a hood, making it look like the reaper was paying a visit. Harry swallowed and managed to glare. "Who are you?"

The person gave a hissing laughter, and Harry's eyes widened. There was no way...!

"Harry... You're such a good boy..." the voice drawled and Harry stared as a gloved hand pulled the hood back, exposing the cold, beautiful face. Red, cold eyes stared back at Harry and long, black hair fell over the broad shoulders. The cloak covered the Dark Lord's tall body effectively, but Harry could still see the broad shoulders and the proud posture.

And Harry gasped.

"Tom!"

Harry leaped forward as the longing and furious passion took over his aching body, but as he did, Voldemort backed away, put a slim fabric-covered finger in front of his thin lips and shook his head.

"I am sorry. You can't touch me at the moment. The spell will break."

"Spell?" Harry whispered breathlessly, barely believing his eyes. "What spell?"

"I have cast a spell so that no one will be able to see me... except for you," the Dark Lord drawled and smirked. Harry realized that Voldemort had probably cast the same kind of spell that Blaise had used in Dumbledore's office. The realization didn't make him any happier. He wasn't allowed to touch Voldemort, his Tom... and he was just a few meters away!

"Tom..." Harry whispered and buried his face into his blanket. He threw a begging glance at the dark wizard who was giving him a slightly amused but pitying look. And there was love in those red eyes. Harry could see it clearly. The passion glowed within them, even though most of it was hidden behind the coldness. "I can't take this much longer..."

"Yes, you can," Voldemort said and frowned a little. "You have come this far, Harry... You've done well," the lord gave a small smile. "We'll be together soon," he whispered and Harry nodded, even though it felt like he wanted to ignore everything Voldemort had just said and throw himself into the man's arms. But he knew that he had to stay focused at the moment. So he closed his eyes as he leaned back against his pillowed.

"Tell me the last part of your plan."

Voldemort smirked at hearing these words, and Harry could've sworn he saw another wave of passion in the red pair of eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't have time to warn you about the first part..." Voldemort sighed. "I never intended to let you drink the blood. The thing is... because of the vampire virus in your body, you can transform into a vampire merely by getting bitten by one. However, the transformation takes about three hours if you do it that way. But unlike the original way, where you have to drink the blood _and_ get bitten, it's painless. It doesn't hurt at all. That's why I never wanted you to drink the blood." There was a certain softness in Voldemort's voice as he explained this, and it made Harry's chest feel oddly warm.

"So... why did it turn out like this?" Harry asked. Voldemort threw a glance over his shoulder to make sure Madam Pomfrey, who never seemed to sleep, was nowhere around.

"Because... now that you have drank the vampire blood from a true vampire, all it takes for you to turn into a vampire is a quick nibble. All it takes is a quick bite, and you'll turn in just a few seconds. Also, as soon as the process has begun, it's impossible to stop. That's why this way is safer than the other way, even though this way hurts a great deal more." Voldemort gave Harry another concerned frown.

"But..." Harry flinched as he thought he heard someone approaching. When he didn't see anyone, he leaned closer and whispered; "Why did you do it this way? Wouldn't it have been easier to just bring a vampire the same night? Why wait?"

Voldemort's frown deepened and anger seeped into the red eyes. Harry shuddered.

"Because... this was all Dumbledore's plan," Voldemort sneered and Harry could've sworn he saw a fang behind that pale lip. But he snapped out of his thrilled state as he realized what Voldemort had said.

"What?"

Voldemort leaned closer, making Harry clench his jaws. It was hard enough to watch the man he craved for from a distance, but now Harry could see all the fine details in the invincible man's face, like the barely visible lines under the clear eyes, and the small silver ring in the man's ear.

"Didn't you think it was odd that stealing the key to the Slytherin chest was so easy?"

Harry was about to shake his head, but stopped. It had been weird, hadn't it? Dumbledore was supposed to be one of the most powerful wizards in the world, and they had just waltzed into his office and snatched the key from the desk, as if...

"... He wanted this to happen...?"

Voldemort nodded, and a hateful expression flashed through his eyes.

"Clever old man..." Voldemort sneered silently. "He's been onto you all year. He's been setting traps even, but only a few of them actually worked."

"Traps? For me? Why?" Harry felt upset and betrayed. How was it possible for such a gentle old man to be so... sneaky?

"Because he knows what you are, Harry!" Voldemort said and sounded as if he was annoyed with Harry for not realizing it himself. "I've told you this so many times; No one must suspect you!"

"I've tried my best!" Harry hissed back, starting to feel rather pissed. Voldemort glared hard at him, and Harry responded by glaring just as hard back. Finally the older man sighed.

"I know," he said, sounding somewhat apologizing. "Sadly, it wasn't good enough. Dumbledore realized that there was something wrong right in the beginning. So, to figure out what was wrong, he set up a few traps to be able to see what was about to happen to you and what he could do to prevent it. Do you remember the potions class where Snape told you about the potion that could expose evil?"

Harry nodded, and his eyes widened with realization.

"That was Dumbledore's plan?" Voldemort nodded, looking bitter.

"Among other things. Most of them were unsuccessful, however. He is as smart as ever. He knows what you are, and he knows what I am. I've told you this before. He's willing to do anything to keep us apart, because he believes, as so many others do, that it's _the best for you_." Voldemort spat out the last words. "So the key was really just another one of his traps. Being the headmaster of this school, of course he knew about the knife's powers, and that way, he eventually realized that it could be a possibility for you and I to meet. So he let you steal it, only so that he could wait for me to arrive. He didn't tell anyone about this. He's so damn proud. He thinks that no one, except from himself, is capable of killing me."

"So that's why you couldn't come and get me at once..."

"Yes. He's been expecting me to arrive here ever since the key was stolen from his desk. So I couldn't come to you at once. That is also why Nagini was a bit late. I had to make new plans."

Harry nodded, also frowning by now. Everything was so complicated.

"Then tell me about your new plans."

Voldemort nodded and threw another glimpse over his shoulder.

"I don't have much time left, so listen closely; Tomorrow night, you must go to the highest tower in Hogwarts. Do you know where that is?"

"Yes, the astrology-tower," Harry replied quickly. Voldemort nodded.

"Correct. I will be waiting there with a friend of mine, a vampire, who will bite you then and there."

"Why there? Why can't you just come here?" Harry felt childish for always asking 'why', but since Voldemort never seemed to explain anything, he had to ask. Voldemort closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"Due to more than one reasons... People are watching over you down here, Harry. I might be powerful, but it would still be rather problematic to fight against all of the school's teachers. But the main reason is that the Astrology tower is the best place for you to be turned. Because as soon as we've turned you into a vampire, we plan to escape this dimension for a little while, so that you can recover. It's also the quickest and safest way for us to escape. It has something to do with the power from the stars that's affecting that tower. That's why the astrology tower is such a powerful portal. Almost like a portkey to our dimension."

"O-our dimension?" Harry stammered. Voldemort nodded.

"Yes... Vampires do not actually belong in this dimension. But most of us choose to live here anyway... for the thrill and for the feeling of being alive. And for the humans' blood. Don't worry, Harry," Voldemort whispered. "The vampire dimension is a pleasurable place."

Harry swallowed nervously but nodded none the less. Voldemort blinked emotionlessly.

"You will turn, Harry, and there's no going back after that. However, if you don't come to the tower in time... you will die." The serious look on Voldemort's face made Harry's heart skip a beat. "Do you realize how important it is that you're on time? The vampire blood in your body will kill you, unless it is activated in time, and while you've been sleeping for the past forty five hours, people have been watching over you like hawks. Tomorrow night is our last chance. Do you understand that?"

Harry nodded, and Voldemort's face softened a little.

"Good. I would've brought Nathanius with me tonight if I could, but since you're still in here, surrounded by protectors, it was too big of a risk, because I can't disguise myself _and_ another person at once. He would without a doubt have been caught, since Dumbledore's currently looking for anything out of the ordinary. He's just waiting for me to show up, so that he can kill me." Voldemort smirked.

"Dumbledore... He's using me as bait, isn't he?" Harry could feel the anger bubble in his chest.

"He knows exactly why you stabbed yourself, Harry. Even though he won't tell anyone else, he knows that you didn't try to commit suicide. So he's prepared for what's to come." The red eyes softened even more, and Harry got the feeling that Voldemort wanted to reach out and touch him, just like Harry wanted to touch him. Stupid spell.

"Be careful. Dumbledore knows that tomorrow night is our last chance. He will definitely try to stop you. All I can do is wish you good luck," Voldemort said but suddenly gave a small groan of pain and backed away from Harry. "I have to leave now... Otherwise, someone might see me."

Harry nodded, feeling rather numb.

_Kiss me..._

"I understand." He felt oddly cold as he said it. As if he was prepared to do anything. Even die. "We'll..." Harry swallowed and forced the nervous nausea to go away. "We'll see each other soon... won't we?"

Voldemort stared at him for a few seconds, then he gave a small but genuine smile.

"I certainly hope so. Until then Harry."

And he dissapeared with a small 'poof'.

tbc.

* * *

_Review_, please. That's what keeps me going.

Hope you liked this chapter. I'm actually pretty satisfied with how it came out. I'll try to update again asap.


	12. Chapter 11

I don't own Harry Potter. Obviously.

I own the plot of this fic, and if you try to steal it or copy certain parts of it to use in your fics, it's against the law, and I'll see to that your account is erased.

a/n: Omg, you know what I just discovered? I don't know why, and I don't really know how to explain, but as I'm sure some of you noticed, I used to split the chapters into several parts by using a series of hyphens and dots to announce the new part, for example time-skips or a new situation/scene. Are you following me? Anyway, a few days ago I realized that the hyphens and dots had been taken away! I dunno why... they used to be there, I know that, cuz I often read my own fanfics online and I would've noticed if they had been erased before. So now, there's nothing to announce a time-skip or another situation in chapters 1 - 8... I managed to edit the rest. I know it's irritating, and I swear it wasn't my fault! I mean, it used to work before! I've figured out how to make lines across the page now, so the remaining chapters won't be weird, but... please, bear with it. I'll try to upload the documents and edit them... (gyah, so lengthy...) Until then, bear with the annoying flow.

Oh yeah, and to all of you who mentioned it; yes, I made a mistake. I meant the _astronomy_ tower, not astrology. Sorry, my mistake.

Warnings; Yaoi (slash, or whatever you ppl call it; Gay sex.), Dark!Harry, violence, dark magic, ooc-ness, etc...

Chapter eleven.

* * *

"Mphf... Stupid sun..." Harry groaned and turned on his side to avoid the sunbeams that made everything look orange inside Harry's closed lids. He sighed contently as he stretched his legs out before snuggling his pillow, trying to fall asleep again. The bed was warm and soft and Harry hadn't slept that well for ages, so he stubbornly refused to wake up even though the sun was up.

Wait a minute... the sun was up?

Harry's tired eyes snapped open and stared into the white fabric screen next to his bed. How long had he been asleep? Well, he was still alive, so it couldn't have been too long. He sat up in the bed and scratched his head. It took him almost three seconds to remember the previous night and his heart made a strange leap. He put a trembling hand on his chest, as if to calm his racing heart a bit. His eyes were wide and he could feel how his lips formed a wide smile on his face.

Tonight was the night! It would finally happen! He would finally be able to be with Tom! To touch him, to kiss him, to do... other stuff.

Harry blushed and had to bite his lip to not squeal like a lovesick teenage girl. Even though he didn't exactly enjoy the sensation of sunbeams frying his neck, the sun certainly made him feel happy.

But as soon as the happiness had come, it was replaced with biting coldness. There was still a huge problem; Dumbledore.

Harry let his eyes sweep over the room, as if he suspected Dumbledore was lurking in a corner somewhere, about to make a move. However, the room was empty, save for Madame Pomfrey and two other students who were currently sleeping. It was probably still pretty early. That was good. That meant Harry had the entire day to plan his escape.

"Oh goodness, boy! You're awake", the old nurse chirped as she tripped up to him and grasped his wrist while glancing at the magical clock around her own wrist. "And you seem to be doing fine... I was quite worried since you were talking in your sleep last night. You seemed quite distressed."

Harry's heart took a giant leap and he stared hard at Madame Pomfrey who flinched a little at his glowing gaze. He had been talking in his sleep? That certainly wasn't like him!

"What did I say?" Harry asked as calmly as he could, which was easier said than done! For all he knew, he could've said anything! He could've given away the entire plan!  
However, the elderly nurse just pursed her lips a little.

"Well, it was rather bizarre really... You see, you had been sleeping for almost five hours, but suddenly you sat up in your bed and seemed frightened. Then you started to speak. As if you were talking to someone who wasn't there. I wasn't very close, so I couldn't hear what you were saying... Something about 'Tom', but that's all. You see, it could be dangerous to wake someone who is talking or walking in his sleep. So I let you be. I thought you were having a nightmare."

Harry sighed with relief, even though he clearly understood how close Madam Pomfrey had been to finding out about Tom and Harry. The old nurse had simply witnessed the conversation he and Tom had had the previous night, and since she couldn't see Tom, who was under a spell, she assumed that Harry was talking in his sleep. Thank God.

"Oh... I see", Harry murmured and rubbed his tired eyes. "Well, I have been feeling a bit stressed lately."

"No need to tell me, boy", the nurse said and glanced towards Harry's scarred wrist. "Doesn't matter now... I just hope you'll feel better soon." She gave him a kind smile before tripping off to some other injured student. Harry stared after her as she left. Then he leaned back into his soft pillows and averted his gaze to the roof. Now what?

Madame Pomfrey would presumably watch over him like a hawk. And since it was morning, the school corridors would soon be filled with both student and teachers. There was no way Harry could get to the astronomy tower without being caught. At least not at this hour, right?

Harry sighed with annoyance. He understood what Voldemort had meant now, about it being too troublesome for him and his vampire friend to break into the hospital wing. There were teachers everywhere, all the time. And since most of the teachers probably knew what had happened to Harry; that he had 'tried to kill himself', everyone would keep a close eye on him. And Harry was still weak from being emptied on blood. He could feel the vampire blood in his veins, but as long as the vampire virus wasn't activated, nothing would happen. He couldn't even use magic properly anymore, which actually freaked him out a little. He didn't even know where his wand was!

Harry pouted a bit and desperately tried to figure something out. He had to come up with a real master plan, so that he could get out of the hospital wing without Madame Pomfrey butting in, past all those school corridors without being stopped by teachers and then climb all of those stairs up the astronomy tower. Fantastic. Not to mention, Dumbledore was probably watched his every move.

Anger made Harry's heart speed up and he had a sudden inner vision of Dumbledore blowing up while Harry was laughing evilly in the background. Harry held that thought for a little while, just for sheer pleasure. Oh, he could almost hear the pleas of forgiveness, and see the pained tears trickling down into Dumbledore's thick beard...but Harry wouldn't budge. Oh no, he wouldn't budge...and Harry raised his wand to Dumbledore's clammy forehead, smirked and said-

"Mr Potter, you have a visitor", Madam Pomfrey said and interrupted Harry's oh-so pleasurable daydream. Harry sighed and glared towards the person who was standing by his feet. His angry frown was quickly replaced with surprise.

"Blaise?"

Madame Pomfrey gave Blaise a dirty glance. The nurse had never been particularly fond of the Slytherins, and since she had witnessed the fight between Draco and McGonagall, Harry reckoned she didn't really want to leave Harry alone with Blaise. But Harry gave her a cold stare, making it clear that he wanted her to leave.

"What... what is happening?" Harry asked, bemused at the sad expression on Blaise's face.

"Draco... and I... We, uh..." Blaise swallowed and looked away. Harry stared intensively at him.

"You what?"

"We're expelled from Hogwarts. We're leaving tonight."

The boys were silent for a few minutes. Harry stared at Blaise who had a bitter look on his face. His ice-blue eyes were glowing angrily.

"I am sorry. I don't know what to say", Harry murmured, feeling sick with guilt. Guilt was a feeling he wasn't altogether familiar with, after weeks of being almost completely emotionless. He had gotten used to his dark state of mind where he didn't care about anything or anyone. It was easier, and it didn't hurt so much. Lately though, he had started to _feel sorry _for people and he had started to dread the feeling of never being able to see them again after tonight. Was it because of the vampire blood? That didn't make sense. Then again, who ever said vampires didn't have emotions?

"You look confused", Blaise mused and gestured towards the hand that Harry subconsciously used to massage his chest. "Are you still in pain?"

"A different kind of pain", Harry whispered darkly and suddenly hated the sun that made his skin boil. He threw the window a disgusted glance. "My chest hurts... And I can't remember why."

Blaise gave a sad smile and sat down on the bed, next to Harry's feet.

"Don't worry... You're starting to feel again."

"Excuse me?" Harry gave the Slytherin a confused look and quirked his eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" Blaise laughed softly.

"You probably never noticed. They never do. I wouldn't have noticed unless my mom had told me about it."

"What are you talking about?"

Blaise sighed and turned his face towards the sun. His brown skin glowered in the light, but Blaise didn't smile. His eyes were wide open, and the sun made them glimmer with tears.

"During the weeks of... _acknowledgement_ between your body and your virus. The 'vampiric puberty', or whatever you prefer to call it, the human soul is transformed into something... less human. Your spirit isolates your emotions; stuffs them away for a few weeks. To leave room for the transformation and the new darkness that belongs inside of you. You're not feeling _anything_ during those weeks. You're as inhuman as possible."

"Inhuman...?" The room suddenly seemed darker, and Harry realized that the sun was hidden behind a big cloud. No wonder Harry had been acting so hatefully towards Ron and Hermione lately. Blaise averted his gaze from the window and smirked at Harry.

"No matter what people say, they can't deny it; humans and vampires are related. But during those weeks of transformation, you're as inhuman as you'll ever be. When it's over, when the virus is ready to be activated... your emotions come back to you. It's up to you how to handle it."

"What are you-"

Harry silenced as Madame Pomfrey walked past his bed towards the door. Blaise looked after her, and when she had left, Blaise continued.

"It's kinda like my duty to tell you about this. I'm not trying to be some kind of a 'master' to you or something. It's just a part of our culture. And this is your last lesson from me."

"Blaise...?"

"Your feelings have returned. You're ready to be transformed at any time now, and I can smell the vampire blood in you. It's up to you how you choose to handle the human emotions."

And with that, Blaise stood up from the bed.

"I have to go now. You'll understand eventually, so don't give me that stupid look", Blaise scoffed at Harry's confused frown but quickly turned dead serious. "Harry... Draco's parents aren't very pleased with this. He didn't even get to finish his fifth year. They're definitely gonna punish him. My mom isn't exactly thrilled either. Don't forget about that, Potter. This is my last gift." Blaise smirked and reached out his hand to Harry who took it and shook it, a broad smile forming on his face. Blaise sniggered and nodded before turning around and walking away.

"You owe us."

* * *

Harry stared at the object in his hand. A smirk formed on his face. God, Blaise was brilliant. He must've known that Harry was incapable of preforming magic. That handshake had been more than a handshake. Blaise had snuck something to Harry. A small bag with powder in it. Probably magic powder. Unfortunately, Harry had no idea what it was or how it was to be used. But he was fairly certain it was going to help him get out of the hospital wing.

It had been a few hours since Blaise had left, but Harry still had no idea how to use the powder. And since Madame Pomfrey was glancing his way every other second, there was now way Harry could experiment with the strange powder to see how it could be used.

He brought the bag to his nose and inhaled carefully before instantly pulling back. What a strange smell! Like a mixture of sweet and salt. And the color... It shifted between beige and green. Harry cocked his head to side while staring at the bag in his hand. Couldn't Blaise have left a note to explain what the hell he was supposed to do with the powder? Maybe the Slytherin's assumed that Harry would know what it was? Harry sighed with frustration. On top of his fatigue and the constant headache, he now felt like an idiot.

"Damn clever Slytherin boy... assuming things all the time..." Harry muttered darkly to himself and didn't notice the shadow that suddenly appeared on his blanket.

"H-Harry..?"

Harry flinched and tried to hide the bag of powder behind his back, even though the person in front of him most likely had already seen it. He looked up and met the teary eyes of Hermione Granger.

"Hermione..."

The room was dead silent for a few seconds, except for Madame Pomfrey's distant instructions to a student who had some kind of illness. Harry knew that Hermione was feeling extremely bad for what happened a few days ago. To be honest, he didn't really care about how guilty she felt, even though he still held affection for his friend. And now she came to bother him right in the middle of Harry's desperation. How many hours did Harry have left? Ten? Nine?

Hermione didn't seem to notice Harry's inner panic, and she inched closer to the bed. She didn't take a seat though, and Harry guessed that she assumed that Harry was angry with her. Well, that was partially true.

"I just... came to see how you were doing", Hermione murmured timidly. She didn't look at Harry, but kept her eyes on her feet. Harry sighed.

"I'm fine", he answered curtly. Hermione nodded shakily and sighed.

"I just want you to know... that I'm sorry."

Harry stared at the girl as big tears started to roll down her cheeks. He mentally rolled his eyes at this. He didn't do or say anything to prevent the girl from crying. At the moment, Hermione was nothing but an annoyance, and this time, Harry was sure it had nothing to do with lack of emotions.

"It's fine", Harry muttered and tried to make her understand that he wanted to be left alone. "Really, I'm fine so-"

"It's not fine!" Hermione exclaimed and suddenly kneeled before Harry's bed, which caused Harry to flinch with surprise and his eyes widened. The girl was really pleading. "I am sorry for calling you a demon!" She sobbed and buried her damp face in Harry's mattress. "But you were acting so strangely... I missed the old Harry. He was my friend. And the new you seems to hate me. I refused to believe that you were actually Harry. I didn't want you to be Harry!" Her voice was muffled since she was pressing her face rather firmly into Harry's sheets. "Please forgive me. I'd do anything... if you would just forgive me."

Harry looked emotionlessly at the sobbing girl. He didn't have time for this. He had to figure out what the powder was.

Harry blinked. He glanced at the powder and then at Hermione. And then he smirked.

"Hermione..." He put a hand on top of her head. She flinched and snapped her head up.

"Yes?"

"There is something you can do."

Even though Harry wasn't as fond of Hermione as he used to be, he hadn't forgotten her personality, or her brilliant brains. She, if anybody, should be able to tell him what the powder was and how it could be used. He showed the bag to Hermione who blinked away the tears in her eyes. She stared at the powder for a few seconds before meeting Harry's gaze. She looked shocked.

"Harry, where on earth did you get a hold of this?"

Harry could barely contain a yell of triumph. She had recognized it!

"Do you know what it is?" He asked, sounding a bit too excited for his own liking. Hermione might see through the act. He was supposed to be confused, sad and hurt. Not excited and expectant. The girl nodded while biting her lip. She gave the powder a careful look.

"Yes, of course", she said, returning to her old, self-confident self much to Harry's relief. He didn't like it when she cried. "It's slumber-powder. It's said to be the powder that Sandman uses when he makes the muggles fall asleep. It's just a nickname though. The Sandman doesn't exist, but it makes muggles fall asleep if they breathe it in... but it's not the same for people with magic blood."

"So what happens if a wizard breathes it?" Harry asked, once again sounding way too exhilarated. Hermione gave him a look before continuing with a slight frown.

"The wizard loses all of his magical power for a few hours. It's the same for witches of course."

"Even someone as powerful as... let's say, Dumbledore?" Harry asked innocently. Hermione nodded, and Harry couldn't keep the smirk away any longer. "Thank you Hermione. You've been very helpful to me."

"Harry, where did you get the powder?" Hermione asked, sounding suspicious. The smirk on Harry's lips made her back away a few steps. "What are you planning to do?"

"You'll see..."

"Miss Granger", Madame Pomfrey gave the girl a stern look. "I don't remember giving you permission to visit Mr. Potter. Off you go! Mr. Potter needs to rest."

Hermione looked as if she was about to say something, but the older woman wouldn't listen as she shooed Hermione away from Harry's bed. Harry waved at Hermione as she gave him one last desperate look before being thrown out of the room. Harry sniggered to himself. Blaise was brilliant!

Now, all he had to do was to wait for the right moment...

* * *

Harry was growing very impatient. It was already evening! Where was Dumbledore? In fact, except for Madame Pomfrey, no one had come to visit him since Hermione's last visit. Maybe Dumbledore had something to do with it? Or what if Hermione had told the old geezer about Harry's slumber-powder? That could ruin everything!

"Fuck." Harry was biting the nail of his thumb worriedly. The sky was darkening outside his window and Harry savored the coolness that exchanged with the burning sun that Harry had desperately tried to escape all day by hiding under his blankets. Madame Pomfrey walked up to his bed and put her hand on his forehead while looking at Harry's glaring face with a judging expression.

"You still have a bit of a fever, don't you?" She tsk'd and wrote something down on a piece of paper. Then she put a thin object on Harry's desk.

"Your wand, Mr. Potter. It was found in the girl's bathroom, but I don't recommend using it until you feel a bit better." Harry nodded and she left him, obviously pleased with his obedient behavior.

Harry turned to look at his beloved wand that was now placed on his nightstand. He reached out to grab it. The wood felt cool in his hand. After several days without using magic, it almost felt strange to hold the piece of wood in his hand. Did he even remember how to perform magic? Harry took a more firm grip of the wand and grinned.

Of course he did! He could feel his strength return to him, even though he was still very weak. If he had to, he could probably perform one single Expelliarmus. That was more than nothing. And he had the slumber powder...

Harry let his dark green eyes sweep over the room. He smirked as he realized that apart from himself, there were still only two other students in the hospital wing, and they were both sound asleep. If it wasn't for the damn nurse, Harry could just leave the hospital wing, but since she _was _there, Harry couldn't try to run away. It'd cause too much ruckus, and Tom had strictly told him not to draw attention to himself. If there just was a way for Harry to put Madame Pomfrey out... But he couldn't use magic too much, and even if he used the slumber-powder on her, she could still scream for help.

"Mr Potter", said Madame Pomfrey and interrupted Harry's frantic thinking. He gave her the usual dark glare. She was carrying a small cup that, as usual, smelled like vomit. "Please drink this. You do need your sleep, and this will help..." She went silent as Harry glared even harder at her.

"I've told you so many times, I don't _want_ to sl-"

Harry went quiet and stared at the small cup in her hand. He smirked inwardly as an idea started to take form. This would work.

He sighed and massaged his forehead before giving the elderly nurse an apologetic smile. He took the cup from her hand.

"I'll drink it... But first... Come a bit closer", he whispered and pretended to be exhausted. While Madame Pomfrey took a seat on his bedside and leaned closer to be able to hear what 'the tired Harry' had to say, Harry took out he bag of slumber powder from under his pillow. Without any warning, he took some of the powder in his fingers and threw it on the surprised nurse who gave a small yelp and stood up from Harry's bed while furiously wiping her face. She started to sag as the magic left her body.

"H-Harry... Mr. Potter, what are you..?"

Harry gave her an amused look as her legs gave out from the shock of being drained on magic. She was panting and looked as if she was in pain. Harry grabbed her hair by the neck and turned her head so that she faced him. Then he took the cup she had given him and put it to her lips. Her eyes widened dramatically as Harry forced the liquid into her mouth. Harry watched with satisfaction as her throat swallowed jerkily. He made her drink the entire cup, and when he finally released her hair, she was already starting to fall asleep.

Harry stared at the sleeping woman for a few seconds. Then he sniggered, grabbed his wand and got up from the bed. He absolutely hated the white hospital gown he wore, but there was no time to think about finding other clothes. Harry rushed towards the door.

"So it finally happened. I won't lie to you Harry", the voice said and Harry turned around, with a pounding heart. He knew that voice. "I was really hoping you wouldn't go through with it."

One of the students that Harry had thought was sleeping was giving him a stern look. The boy looked pretty young but the voice that came out of the mouth sounded much older. Harry watched as the young body grew and changed into the body of an old man. Dumbledore was staring coldly at him. Harry took a step backwards and glared fiercely at the older man.

"Piss off", Harry sneered, and somehow made a sound like when a cat hisses with anger. "I won't let you stop me any more! You ruined my entire life, you fucktard!" Dumbledore snickered and fueled Harry's anger.

"Such foul language, Harry. You don't understand anything, do you? I _saved_ you from yourself, Harry. Vampires are evil creatures."

"So you intended to make me live as a human, even though I was meant to be a vampire? How stupid are you?!" Harry yelled and he could feel how his body started to tremble from the rage. "It doesn't matter if you forced me to grow up in a human family, and it doesn't matter if you tell me that I am a human, because the blood that flows in my veins is vampiric! It's not my nature!"

"Harry-"

"No! It's you who doesn't understand. I _am_ evil. I _want_ to become a vampire. And guess what, I was meant to be. So how about you get out of my way, and no one gets hurt."

"Think about your friends, Harry. Think about the people that love you."

Harry laughed.

"My friends? I can barely stand them any more! They're naïve, sun-loving wimps!" He was lying. He did care about the people he would have to leave behind. But he couldn't let Dumbledore know that. He gave the headmaster a dark glare. "And what about the people that love me? Tom loves me, and right now, that's all that matters. You lied to me. My entire life has been a lie because of you bastards, so don't think for a minute that you'll be able to change my mind!"

Dumbledore gave him a cold look. Then he finally raised his wand towards Harry who pressed himself against the door behind his back. He could feel the knob press into his spine.

"Seems I have no choice, Harry. I am truly sorry."

"So you'd rather have me dead than turned into a vampire?" Harry whispered, terrified and once again angry with himself for not thinking the situation through. Dumbledore blinked slowly.

"But of course. I protect mankind, Harry. Vampires are evil creatures. _Very_ evil creatures."

Harry swallowed nervously and stared at the wand in Dumbledore's hand. Slowly, he raised his own wand. Dumbledore gave a confused laugh.

"I know for a fact that you're unable to perform magic, Harry. Your body is still too weak. I am sorry, but your journey ends here. Sometimes, you're just unable to see what's to come in life, Harry-"

"EXPELLIARMUS!!" Harry roared in the middle of Dumbledore's speech and even though it wasn't as strong as it used to be, Harry's spell made Dumbledore's wand fly out of the old man's hand. The headmaster had a shocked look on his face. Harry smirked.

"Didn't see _that_ one coming, did you?" He grabbed a fist full of slumber-powder and threw it on Dumbledore who tried to cover his nose and mouth, but was unsuccessful. Harry had been too quick for him. Dumbledore's legs gave out, and the old man was suddenly nothing but an old man. Without magic flowing through his system, Dumbledore looked tired and old and exhausted. Harry gave him a disgusted look.

"Do you think that this will stop me, Harry?" Dumbledore smirked. "I can still hunt you down before you reach the astronomy tower. My body will soon regain it's strength."

Harry smiled and turned around to open the door.

"Maybe so", he said and smirked at the headmaster on the floor. "But I bet this is gonna give me some extra time." He turned around once more to walk out of the room when Dumbeldore's voice once again reached him.

"Do you really think that Tom Riddle loves you? Huh? How naïve, Harry! What a sick, disgusting love it is! You must be out of your mind, boy. Do you really think that Voldemort loves you? That the person who killed your parents _loves _you? The one who tried to kill _you_?!"

Harry didn't turn around to face the man.

"Yes. I do," he murmured. "And I love him too. And besides, I know for a fact that he wasn't the one who gave me this scar." He finally turned around and let his index finger carress the scar on his forehead. He gave the exhausted wizard an ice-cold look. "It was you."

Dumbledore stared at him with shocked eyes. For a few seconds, the old man didn't seem to know what to say. Then he finally parted his trembling lips again.

"YOU FOOL! He's just trying to trick you! That's all there is to it! I know that! I know it! Harry, Harry, listen to me... Don't go! What kind of life will the two of you be able to live? Huh?"

Harry turned his back to Dumbledore and gave a whispered;

"I hope you die, Albus."

He left the room and started to walk towards the astronomy tower. But just then, Dumbledore's monotonic voice was heard throughout the entire school, loud enough for Harry to jump and press himself to the wall.

"MINERVA!! HE GOT AWAY!!"

* * *

Harry panted heavily as he ran through the moonlit corridors. The astronomy tower was still far away, and Harry's body was weak from using Expelliarmus on Dumbledore. Obviously, some kind of alarm was set off as Harry left the hospital wing. Harry threw a glance backwards as he ran, to see if anyone was behind him. The corridor was empty and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Harry's legs gave out and, with a yell, Harry fell on the hard stone floor.

"Ouch!" He hissed and massaged his aching knees. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!!" He forced himself to get up from the floor and kept running, even though his legs were weak and exhausted. His entire body ached.

After running for a minute or so, Harry finally allowed himself to lean against the wall to catch his breath. The astronomy tower wasn't very far off now, but the staircase he had to climb to reach the top was very long. Harry honestly didn't know if he'd make it to the top.

"Harry, shit, there you are!"

Harry jumped, terrified that it was a teacher, but as he met the worried face of Ron, who was still dressed in his pajamas, he relaxed a little.

"R-Ron...?"

"Harry, they're all looking for you! What's going on?"

"Hey, there he is!" A distant voice called from the other side of the corridor and when Harry looked, no less than five teachers were heading his way. Professor McGonagall, Snape, who had obviously recovered from his meeting with Tom a few days ago, Hagrid, who looked as if he was about to cry, Professor Flitwick and Professor Trelawney, who looked as if she wasn't altogether sure of what was going on.

Harry pushed himself off of the wall and started to run. Ron followed him.

"Mr. Weasley, stop him!" Professor McGonagall yelled, but Ron just turned to Harry.

"What's happening? Harry..." he panted. "What have you done?"

Harry didn't answer. He could feel the tears burning behind his lids. Everything seemed so hopeless! The teachers were closing in on him, and he had just reached the beginning of the long staircase.

"Harry, just tell me!" Ron begged and gripped Harry's shoulders. Harry's tears spilled over and soaked his cheeks that were already wet with sweat. Harry sunk to the floor, and covered his crying face with his sweaty hands.

"Ron", he sobbed miserably. "I'm not who you think I am. They don't understand. I will _never_ be happy if I keep on living like this! I just need to get to the top of the tower. I'll die if I don't get there in time-"

Harry yelped as Ron suddenly lift him from the ground and put Harry on his back. Then he started to run up the stairs with Harry heavily clinging to him.

"R-Ron?" Harry whispered, way too exhausted to speak.

"I don't know what's going on, Harry", he panted. "But I know that you've been miserable this year. You've behaved so strangely... And you're my best friend. I don't care anymore. Even if I'm carrying you to your death... If it's what you want, I'll help you!"

A sudden wave of affection flowed through Harry at these words and he hugged Ron's shoulders tightly as he buried his damp face in Ron's neck.

"Thank you..."

He turned around and watched as the teachers ran after them, yelling and shouting at Ron to stop. But the red-head stubbornly carried Harry all the way up until the door to the classroom became visible. Ron dropped Harry onto the floor and then sunk to his knees, coughing and panting and smiling.

"Is this alright, Harry? I know I'm daft sometimes... An annoying best friend. Was I able to help you?"

Harry smiled tiredly and forced himself to get up from the floor. He nodded.

"What would I do without you, Ron?" He whispered. Ron smiled and closed his eyes. He had passed out. Harry leaned against the wall and stared tiredly at Ron for a few seconds. He would indeed miss the daft red-head. He flinched as a voice cut through the silence.

"Harry Potter!"

Professor McGonagall was standing in front of him, practically seething with rage.

"What are you trying to do, foolish boy?!" The other teachers joined her. Harry gave a tired smirk and opened the door. The teachers gasped and took a step towards him but it was already too late for them to do anything. Harry turned away from them and ran into the room.

A thrill ran through Harry as he entered. That dark aura... he recognized it! A wave of passion welled up inside of him, and more tears spilled over. With a new kind of desperation, Harry ran into the room and started searching.

It was darker than it used to be. The pillows that the students used to lay on when they studied the planets during class had been shoved away. In the middle of the room was a white ring drawn on the floor, and inside of it stood two people. Harry stopped for a second, as if he couldn't believe what he saw.

"Tom..." Harry sobbed and ran to the circle despite his current exhaustion. Just as his legs were about to give out, two strong arms caught him and pulled him into a close embrace.

"Harry..." A dark voice murmured against his neck and Harry shuddered as he realized who was holding him. He looked up to meet the red eyes of his lord. Voldemort stared into his tired face and looked as if he wanted to kiss him badly. Harry smiled tiredly and leaned into the tight embrace. Tom didn't seem to be willing to let him go just yet.

"Was I too late?"

At this, Tom smirked and shook his head. He put his nose against Harry's hair and inhaled, making Harry shut his eyes and blush slightly.

"You're just in time, love."

And with those words, Tom handed Harry over to the other person. A man with long, dark hair and gleaming eyes. Harry was so mesmerized by the man's amazing looks, he barely even noticed that the room was filled with the teachers that had tried to catch Harry. Tom sighed with annoyance.

"I told you not to draw attention..."

He silenced and glared at the unknown man who now lowered his face to Harry's neck, and Harry shuddered with pleasure as he felt the sharp fangs touch his skin teasingly. He let his arms encircle the man's head, and as the fangs finally sunk into Harry's skin, Harry gasped and let his eyes groggily sweep over the room. The faces of the teachers were shocked. Hadn't they known that this was about to happen? Professor McGongall covered her gaping mouth with a trembling hand.

He also caught the dark look on Tom's face, which didn't look happy at all. In fact, Harry would swear that the red eyes were filled with envy. Maybe he was just imaginating?

Harry didn't care about anything anymore. Even though it only lasted for about ten seconds, and even though it hurt like hell, Harry was in paradise. It was finally happening! Finally! There was nothing they could do about it anymore! Harry noticed, through his daze, that the spells and curses the teachers tried to cast bounced away from them, and Harry realized that the white ring on the floor was probably some kind of protective wall. They were inside some kind of strong protection charm.

As the unknown man finally let go of him, leaving Harry groggy and drained, Harry's body still jerked and he panted as the pain coursed through him. It felt as if all of his inner organs were removed, transformed, cut into... Everything just hurt, and Harry couldn't contain his gasps as the pain shook his entire being.

But just then, Tom's arms came around him once more and pulled him closer, away from the man who had just bitten Harry. The man smirked, bowed slightly to Tom and then disappeared into thin air, with a small chuckle. Harry buried his head into Tom's chest with a tired whimper and closed his eyes. The pain was going away. It was finally over. It was done. Harry let his tongue glide over his teeth and noticed with an thrilled feeling that he had developed two, small fangs. His body regained it's strength, but he still clung to Tom.

Dumbledore staggered into the room, grasping at his chest. He was panting and sweating and the look he gave Harry and Tom was one of utter hatred.

"Why, if isn't Albus Dumbledore himself," Tom sniggered. "Didn't I tell you? Harry belongs to me. Did you really think you'd be able to keep him away from me?"

The teachers in the room turned to Dumbledore with shocked expressions. Dumbeldore took no notice of them but continued to glare at Harry and Tom. Harry grinned and deliberately showed off his pointy canines.

"Sorry, Albus." He tilted his neck a little and gave a visible shudder as Tom's lips came down to kiss his sensitive skin. "You lose."

"I bid you farewell!" Tom called and with those final words, Tom snapped his fingers, took a firm grip of Harry's wait, pulled him close, and then suddenly the room and the teachers were gone. Harry and Tom were soaring through time, through space, towards a new place. Harry could feel Tom embracing him tightly from behind, and even though he couldn't see anything, that was enough. He smiled.

He was finally where he belonged.

TBC.

* * *

Please, review.

The story's **not** over, ok? I promised you guys lemons, and lemons there shall be.

You haven't forgotten, have you? About the promise that Harry made to Draco. Stick around, and you'll find out what happens.

E/N (the beta): Ano…Gomenasai! I made Ciiah-chan wait a lot longer than I had told her. Finals at my University kind of consumed me. I'll be faster with the next chapter, I swear. orz orz orz - Ender


	13. Chapter 12

I don't own Harry Potter in any way. If I did, all of the Harry Potter movies would be rated 18+. (perverted laughter)

I own the plot of this fic. If you steal it (copy the entire fic, or certain parts of it, to use in your own fanfictions) it's against the law, and I'll see to that your account is erased. You don't think I have the guts? Try me.

Also, I'm sorry for the wait... my laptop broke down a few days ago and I just got it back - plus, as you all know, I'm a high school student, so I have a bunch of finals to tend to.

(a/n; okay, so, now the dots and hyphens are back? I'm confused. Someone please explain!)

Warnings - Explicit Yaoi (slash), dark!Harry, foul language, random evilness, occ... etc. You know the drill by now.

Chapter 12.

...

Harry refused to open his eyes, even though he could feel ground under his feet and cold air against his skin. He buried his face further into the dark fabric of Tom's robes and inhaled deeply. The scent made him almost dizzy. Just a few seconds ago, they had still been at Hogwarts, in the astronomy tower. Harry imagined the panic that the teachers were experiencing now that their golden boy had run away. The thought made him almost giggle into the dark robes.

"Harry," Tom drawled as Harry sighed with contentment. "We're here. If you don't let go of me, you won't be able to see your new home."

Harry snapped his eyes open and let go of Tom to let his eyes wander around. Oh yeah, Harry thought, we're not in England anymore. There were trees around them. Dark trees. The ground was dark, the sky was dark. It was like a world of night. Harry stared up into the sky and marveled at the sight of the stars. They were shining... so much brighter than he was used to... Was it because of his improved sight? He was a vampire now, after all. He let his tongue slide over his teeth again and smirked a little as he found his pointy fangs.

"It's..." Harry breathed and turned to Tom, who was partly hidden in the shadows of the trees. His crimson eyes glowered intensively in the night and made Harry blush slightly. "Beautiful."

Tom blinked and took a step to Harry who swallowed and turned his gaze to the ground. The way the man looked at him now... It made Harry feel hot even though they weren't even touching. It was embarrassing, but he couldn't help it. He could already feel his body grow warm and his pulse speed up.

Tom stood before him and waited until Harry finally faced him. Then he placed his gloved hands on the sides of Harry's face and held it in place as he bent down and captured Harry's lips in a fierce, but calm kiss. Harry's shimmering green eyes stared into Tom's red ones as their lips touched. Harry started to respond to the massaging and his eyes slipped closed. It was impossible for him to keep them open when Tom kissed him like that. Fire spread throughout his body. Tingles danced over his skin and the arousal that burned in him grew even stronger, now that his Lord was finally kissing him!

Suddenly, Tom nibbled on Harry's bottom lip, which made Harry gasp with surprise, pain and arousal. Tom slipped his tongue inside and roamed around, grasping Harry's face and neck more firmly and he devoured the boy. Harry clutched Tom's robed to keep himself upright; his knees were getting weaker with each passing second. When Tom finally slowed down and let go of him, Harry was panting pretty hard and he could feel how his flushed cheeks burned against the cold air.

"Excuse me..." A voice suddenly cut in and made Harry flinch and involuntarily take a step towards Tom, as an act of defense, which made him feel a bit embarrassed. He wasn't a girl, for crying out loud. Tom glared towards a man who was standing next to a tree not even three meters away.

"I thought I told you to go back to the castle," Tom said coldly, obviously annoyed with the man who now smirked.

"Indeed you did, Tom, but I just wanted to make sure that you two didn't get lost on the way."

Harry immediately recognized the man and turned away with a small, embarrassed blush and a small frown. It was the man who had bitten him a few minutes ago. The man who turned him. Harry clearly remembered the pleasure it had given him, and he was fairly sure he had even moaned. The bruise on Harry's neck still ached a little. The man took a few steps closer and grinned as he studied Harry's nervous face.

"He really is a piece of eye-candy, ain't he?" He chuckled and raised an eyebrow as Tom took a step in front of Harry with a cold, emotionless look on his face.

"He's mine, Nathanael."

Harry stared at Tom's back and blinked with surprise. Of course he had known that Tom considered Harry as his, but now that Tom had actually said it out loud, it was a whole new feeling. Harry remembered once, a few weeks ago, when Snape had tried to make Harry tell him what was going on and Harry had pushed the teacher away and then escaped.

_"That scum is not allowed to touch you, Harry."_

_"I... won't let it happen again!"_

It was the same feeling as then. It confused Harry. Was it really such a good feeling, to be 'owned' by someone? He noticed the fierce, silent war that the two men fought. Tom looked as emotionless as always, but the intensity in his eyes told Harry that he was ready to kill at any given chance. The man, Nathanael, backed away a little with his slim hands in front of his chest while sniggering to himself.

"No reason to get angry, Tom. We're not enemies, and I won't steal your little boy-toy." Harry blushed with anger and embarrassment. What a rude guy this _Nathanael _was. Harry was fairly sure he'd heard the name before. "Come on, we have to get him to the castle... unless you were thinking about fucking him out here, we should get him into the warmth. He's starting to shudder."

Harry blinked and realized that the man was right; he was feeling rather cold. He looked down and realized that he was still wearing the white hospital gown. The thin short material that he wore barely covered him. His legs and arms were exposed and there was nothing else underneath his gown to help keep him warm. Tom threw Harry a chaste look and nodded.

"You're right."

Nathanael started walking and Tom followed, still with his back to Harry. Harry frowned a little before he started to walk. Tom was probably still angry with Nathanael. The aura he had now was colder than the one Harry was used to. Harry tried to speed up, so that he could walk next to Tom, but as he started to walk faster, Tom sent him a silent glance, and that was all it took for Harry to understand that he was meant to walk behind. At least for now. Right?

"T-tom..." Harry said, and cursed his cold body. He was starting to shudder real bad. "Are w-we... there ye-yet?"

"Soon", Tom answered, but didn't slow down, or even look back to see how Harry was doing. Harry frowned and averted his gaze from Tom's back to the ground. He was barefoot. Stupid Tom. His feet were hurting, and he was freezing his balls off, and the bastard wouldn't even look at him? What was his problem? Was Nathanael still the reason for Tom's coldness?

After a few minutes of walking, a large castle, much like Hogwarts, became visible over the treetops. It was blacker than Hogwarts though. And it had more towers. And, Harry realized as they came closer, it was bigger. Much bigger.

"Amazing," Harry breathed and stared at the huge castle, momentarily forgetting about the cold temperature. Tom finally stopped and gave Harry an emotionless glance, before turning away again. Harry stared after him. What was going on?

They stopped at the gate and waited for a few seconds. Suddenly, a young boy with red, pointy hair and large grey eyes popped his head out through the bars.

"Name?" He said with a slightly bored voice.

"Nathanael Vlad Dragulia", Nathanael said and Harry immediately realized who he was. He had read about him not even two months ago! The son of Dracula. Harry glanced at said man and blushed as he remembered that the same man had bitten him. The one who transformed him; The son of Dracula... It was almost dazzling. Harry snapped his eyes back to the ground as he felt the hard gaze of Tom's in his neck. Was he jealous, or just angry with Harry for staring so shamelessly at the other man?

"Tom Riddle", Tom said and then turned to Harry, as did the other two. The boy eyed him with curiosity. Harry blinked and realized that he was expected to introduce himself.

"Uh... Harry Potter," he said nervously. The boy's grey eyes were a bit scary. It felt as if they could see right through him.

"New recruit," Nathanael said and grinned at the boy who sighed and nodded.

"I get it. Okay... Welcome." He pulled his head back in and turned around. "Open up!"

A few seconds later, the gate started to open soundlessly and Nathanael, still smirking, walked in. Tom and Harry followed him. Tom was still not facing Harry. Harry kept his gaze on the ground. He was confused. And rather hurt. Had he done something wrong?

Involuntarily, Harry started to think of Dumbledore's last words.

_"He's just using you! It's a trick! I know it!"_

Harry shook his head and frowned, still keeping his gaze low. There was no way that could be true. No way.

"Welcome back, sires," a butler with a black tux and white hair said as they finally walked into the hallway. "And who might this be?" The butler stared at Harry with pursed lips. Harry glared at the butler and before he could stop himself, out of annoyance and fatigue, he put his hands on his hips and smirked. Then he pointed to Tom with his thumb.

"I'm his boy-toy. Nice to meet you."

The butler stared at him for a few seconds, and Harry could feel a blush crawl over his cheeks from embarrassment. What a stupid thing to say! Since when did he have such self-confidence? He glanced nervously at Tom and flinched. Tom was finally meeting his gaze, but the older man looked more or less furious, behind the cool facade. The red eyes glowered at Harry who quickly turned his gaze away and lowered his head. Still, even though he hated the feeling of having Tom angry at him, he couldn't help feeling a bit angry himself. Why was Tom acting so weird?

Well, the bastard deserved it. And the look on the butler's face was really amusing. Nathanael was laughing, too, Harry realized.

"Confident little brat, ain't he?" Nathanael smirked at Harry who couldn't help but to smirk back, then he turned back to the butler. "He's a new recuit, Edward." The butler coughed and bowed to Harry who didn't bow back. He was still a bit pissed about the butler's attitude from a few seconds ago.

"Ah, finally! Tom, pleasure to see you again." a man with long, red hair in a braid walked into the hallway, followed by three other men who looked much more strict and formal than the first one. "And this must be young Harry, am I right?" The man leaned forward and stared into Harry's face. Harry blinked and had the urge to back away from the man, but the man seemed to realize Harry's uncertainty, so he quickly backed away, having an amused smile on his face.

"Pretty little thing you've got here, Tom. I envy you."

Harry glanced blushingly at Tom again, but quickly looked away, since Tom still looked angry. Harry couldn't help feeling like a defiant child, being punished by a parent.

"Shall we begin?"

"Begin what?" Harry asked and turned to Tom, who, as expected, didn't look back. Harry turned back to the red-haired man who gestured for Harry to come with him.

"You mean you didn't tell him about the tests, Tom?" The red-head said and turned to Tom with a surprised frown. Tom closed his eyes and shook his head no.

"I apologize, Trenton. It must've slipped my mind," he replied calmly. Harry stared at him, furious and confused.

"What are you talking about?" Harry exclaimed angrily. "What tests?"

Trenton turned to Harry with narrowed eyes and chuckled.

"You see, young Mr. Potter, just because you are a vampire, it doesn't mean that you will automatically get accepted into this house. You have to prove your worth by doing three tests. You are, of course, allowed to stay here during the tests, but if you fail even one of them, you will not be able to stay here."

Harry stared at the man, feeling like he had just taken a cold shower. Why hadn't Tom told him about this? Why was he behaving so coldly? Harry didn't understand anything. He felt sick and cold, and he was starting to shudder. Goosbumps spread over his body. He was still dressed in nothing but the hospital gown, and that was seriously starting to bother him. Trenton seemed to sense Harry's discomfort.

"Not to worry, boy. The tests won't start until tomorrow night. You are tired, obviously. I will show you to your room."

"Actually," Tom interrupted and took a small step forward. "The boy will spend the night in my room."

Trenton stared at Tom, with a new kind of coldness in his earlier so kind eyes. Then he smiled again.

"May I ask why?"

"I am the boy's master. I am the one who found him, and it was my blood that he drank. Therefore, he belongs to me."

Harry stared at Tom. He felt empty inside. Cold. It wasn't the fact that Tom wouldn't even call Harry by his name anymore that hurt the most. Dumbledore had been right. That was what hurt. If this was the real purpose for Tom to take him away... Then Dumbledore had been right all along, hadn't he? And Harry had been foolish enough to fall for it. What was he to Tom? A slave? A page? Merely a servant? Had this been his plan all along?

Harry turned his damp eyes to the floor, ignoring the aching in his chest. There was nothing he could do about it now, anyway. Harry was already a vampire, and he had clearly told the human world to piss off. He had left everything behind. He wouldn't be welcomed back. If Tom was serious... If this was the real Tom... There was nothing he could do, was there?

"His master, huh?" Trenton smirked. "Indeed you are, however... Sir Nathanael was the one who bit him."

"That's right," Nathanael said, smirking behind Trenton. He gave Harry a glowing gaze, one that Harry did not respond to. The shock had already made Harry unable to move properly. He didn't even have the energy to raise his head. Tom took yet another step forward.

"That may be so, but you know very well that I am incapable of turning a magic-user into a vampire. It was necessary to let Nathanael bite him. I am the owner of this new recruit. Do not worry, Trenton. I'll teach him well."

Harry shut his eyes. He felt tired. He wanted to sleep and wake up from this nightmare. Somewhere in the foggy background, he could here the hoarse chuckle of Trenton.

"Very well then. But first, allow me to show the boy around."

"I will accompany you," Tom replied.

"Fine. Mr. Potter," Trenton gave Harry's shoulder a pat, making Harry flinch a little. He met Trenton's gray gaze and blinked slowly. "Come with me. I will show you where the tests will be held tomorrow."

Harry nodded absentmindedly and followed Trenton as he started to walk. Tom, Nathanael and the two other men followed. Someone put a big cloak around Harry's shoulders, but it wasn't Tom. Harry didn't have the energy to turn around to thank whoever it was. The cloak smelled like Nathanael, though.

After a few minutes of silent walking, Trenton stopped and opened a large door on his left, and then went in. Harry followed, and almost forgot about being devastated as he saw the giant room.

"Amazing..." Harry whispered and let his gaze dance over the naked stone floor. The room didn't have any furniture, it was totally empty. "Why is it so big?"

Trenton chuckled.

"You will see, tomorrow, my boy." He turned to Tom. "Make sure to prepare him as well as possible. The first test is the teleportation test; the easiest one."

Tom nodded and bowed to Trenton.

"If you'll excuse us. The boy is tired. He needs to rest." With an emotionless face, Tom turned to Harry. Then he raised one hand, and waved for Harry to go to him. "Come."

Harry hesitated for a second, then took a few steps towards Tom. Anger and sadness and confusion pulsated inside of Harry, and he refused to look at Tom's face. Without a word, Tom grabbed the cloak around Harry's shoulders and threw it on he floor, glared at Nathanael and then exited the room. Harry followed.

As they walked, Harry couldn't help but to glance at Tom's back, only to quickly turn his eyes away again. _Tom..._ Harry felt completely miserable. And angry. The man's behavior made no sense to Harry! As soon as they had arrived in the forest, Tom acted as if he couldn't get enough of Harry, but ever since Nathanael showed up, Tom changed into something... colder.

"We're here," Tom said and stopped in front of a large wooden door with a small sign in the front saying 'Tom Riddle - Vampira magika'. He opened the door and stepped aside, so that Harry could go in before him. Still refusing to look at the man's face, Harry went inside but snapped his eyes open as soon as he saw the expensive rug. It was crimson and gold and green. Harry let his eyes wander over the room with it's extraordinary furniture. There were shelves filled with books, small tables with small, expensive looking items on them, chairs, pillows, plants and also, a huge bed filled with pillows, blankets and surrounded by curtains.

Harry almost forgot about being pissed at Tom. But as the door closed behind him, Harry snapped back into reality and lowered his gaze again.

"Do you like it?" Tom asked almost softly, confusing Harry even more. When Harry didn't answer, Tom grabbed his chin from behind and forced Harry to show him his face. "Is something wrong?"

That was it. Harry kept a straight face but let his eyes turn to ice.

"'Wrong', you ask? Yes, there is something wrong!" Harry glared fiercely at Tom who looked slightly taken aback, even though his face was still almost as stoic as ever. Harry freed himself from Tom's grip and took a few steps away from the Dark Lord who now had a slightly darker look on his face. "Was this your plan all along?"

"Harry-"

"Shut up!" Harry hissed. He was way too pissed and hurt to listen to what Tom had to say. "What the hell am I to you? A slave? Did you have fun behind my back as you fooled me into believing all that bullshit?" Harry panted with fury, and realized that somewhere on the way, the sadness he had felt had been replaced by rage.

"Ha-" Tom tried again, but Harry wouldn't listen. The rage and desperation had already taken over.

"I left everything behind for your fucking sake! And then what happens? I find out that Dumbledore was right all along. And I believed you, you bastard." Furious tears rolled down Harry's cheek and he wiped them away with a frustrated sob. The next second, he gasped. Tom stood right in front of him, even though he had been several meters away just a second ago. Harry stared at Tom who stared back with a passionate, almost grim face. With oddly gentle hands, Tom caressed Harry's face and lowered himself, so that he could cover Harry mouth with his own.

Harry, who had been more or less paralyzed for the last couple of seconds, finally realized what was going on, and gasped against Tom's lips. He started to punch Tom's shoulders, chest and arms. He clawed at Tom's face and he refused to respond to the kiss. Not like this! Not like that... He was just trying to make Harry compliant... Wanted to dominate...

"Le-mphf... Lemme go!" Harry managed to choke out as more tears leaked down his face.

"No," Tom replied, calm as ever, even though he had small scratches all over his face from Harry's sharpened nails. He pressed Harry against the bedpost that went all the way up to the roof and Harry could feel Tom's hands roam over his clothed body. He started to, unwillingly, give in to the touches. The way Tom kissed him now... So passionately, demanding... It made Harry go weak in the knees. And, without noticing it, Harry started to kiss back. He was completely helpless as Tom took his arms and placed them around his broad shoulders, more or less forcing Harry to cling to him.

When Tom finally let go of Harry, and separated their faces by just a few inches so that their hot breaths mingled, Harry was already dazed and flustered. His glasses had fallen off of his blushing face. Tom's red eyes drank in Harry's face and a tongue went out of his mouth and licked Harry's lower lip, dragging a small whimper out of the younger boy.

"Are you aware of how you look, right now?" Tom asked and buried his face into Harry's warm neck and inhaled. "Do you realize how much it makes me want to claim you?"

Harry choked on his breath and blushed even more as Tom gave a hard thrust against Harry's groin to prove his point. The man was hard, and Harry could feel it through the layers of fabric. He swallowed and forced himself to meet Tom's eyes.

"Don't give me that shit... Why were you... acting so..."

"Because of this," Tom said and placed a hand on Harry's red cheek. "As soon as I touch you, you become flustered and weak. You become like this. You blush as soon as I look at you. It's quite troublesome."

"S-shut up... That doesn't explain anything." Harry turned away from Tom who smirked at him, still blushing like mad.

"Yes, it does. You are solely mine."

"Huh?" Harry stared dumbly at Tom who stared back with an almost angry expression.

"You are _mine_. I don't want anyone but me to see you like this, even if it's just a little. This face," Tom licked Harry's lip again, "and this body," thrust against his aroused groin. "Are just for me."

Harry stared at Tom, too shocked to register how hot he was starting to feel.

"Is that why you...?"

"I should've told you before we arrived. There are many vampires of this house who would love to have you as a partner. All the more reason not to let them see you like this, Harry. You are quite seductive, even though you're probably not aware of it yourself," the man sniggered and placed his hands on Harry's hips.

"S-shut up..."

Despite Harry's attempt to seem cool and uncaring, the relief was probably evident on his face, since he had been scowling before. Now, his face got scrunched up with need, as Tom placed a hand on Harry's buttocks and squeezed. Tom snickered and lowered himself again to capture Harry's lips, making the boy practically writhe in his arms. Now that Harry knew the reason behind Tom's strange behavior, he didn't have to hold back, did he? It was all because Tom wanted to have him for himself.

And now, to prove just how dominant he could be, Tom took a firmer grip of Harry's hips and pulled them against his own groin, creating sweet friction that set Harry's nerves on fire.

"Tom..." Harry moaned, almost making it sound like a plea, but he barely knew exactly what he was asking for. Tom obviously knew, as he pushed Harry down on the bed and climbed after him. Tom hovered over him, his red eyes looking darker than usual in the dimly lit room. Harry stared into Tom's face and swallowed nervously as the man lowered himself to whisper in Harry's ear.

"Spread your legs for me, Harry."

And Harry obeyed, being half-aware of what he was doing, and weak from lust. He spread his legs as wide as he could, and Tom placed himself between them. He gave a few thrusts, making Harry tremble even though there were still several layers of clothing separating them. He could feel his racing heart pound within his chest and his face burned. Tom let his hands wander over Harry's lightly dressed body and gave another thrust against Harry, who immediately moaned and bucked back, involuntarily.

"Stop that..." Harry whispered, half-hiding his face in the pillow. He had been looking forward to this so much, but now that it was finally about to happen, he felt shy and embarrassed. He was young, for heaven's sake! He had never had sex before. What if Tom didn't like his body, or what if his lack of skills would somehow make him seem less attractive to Tom?

It finally hit Harry, that the reason for him to suddenly be so insecure was probably because he had all these human emotions again. During the past weeks, Harry had been so focused on carrying the plan out, he hadn't really given it a thought. He hadn't thought of how this would feel. He had been blinded by longing, but he hadn't thought about the fact that he was actually a virgin, inexperienced, young. And he was a boy. A male, who was about to have real, full-blown sex, with another male.

"Stop what?" Tom mused and continued massaging and touching Harry's naked thighs. Tom's fingers played with the hem of the hospital gown and pulled it up, inch by inch, slowly and torturously. Harry gasped and covered his eyes with his hand. It was embarrassing, the way he acted. Like a girl. Like a whore. He didn't want that. He didn't like the thought at all.

"S-surprising me... It's embarrassing... AH!"

Tom had grabbed Harry's already hard member though the thin layer of fabric and gave a determined stroke, making Harry jerk and whimper helplessly under him. Tom sniggered.

"But these faces you make Harry... You're such a tease. Such a good boy." Harry glared fiercely at the older man, but the frown quickly turned into an expression of pleasure, as Tom continued to stroke him.

Harry stopped him by grabbing Tom's shoulder and widening the distance between them. He gave the man a stern look.

"I'm not a woman."

Tom blinked and quirked an eyebrow, looking somewhat surprised, then smirked again and gave another squeeze to Harry's member.

"I'm fully aware of that." He bent down to lick Harry's neck. Harry closed his eyes, desperately trying to remain focused.

"Th-then... don't treat me like one."

Tom stopped his ministrations and gave Harry a heated glance. Then he grinned.

"Do you want to be dominant?"

Before Harry had the chance to reply, Tom flipped them over, so that Harry was on top, sitting awkwardly on Tom's stomach. Tom grinned, showing off his pointy teeth that somehow seemed extremely arousing to Harry.

"Then dominate me. Ride me. Fuck me. Make love to me. You make all the moves. You decide."

Harry stared at him, furiously blushing and turned his face away.

"I-I didn't mean it like that..."

Tom sat up and gave Harry a kiss on the chin. On the jaw. On the neck.

"Then how did you mean it?" When Harry didn't reply, Tom started to massage his buttocks and rock his hips against Harry's. "Don't worry... Just put it in yourself. The rest will... work out fine." There was a certain smugness in Tom's voice, as if he knew exactly what would happen. Harry swallowed nervously. He reached behind Tom and fiddled with the man's ponytail. Suddenly feeling giddy, he pulled it out, and felt the silky strands flow out, through his fingers, over Tom's back.

Tom smirked, put his nose against Harry's chest and started to pull the hospital gown up, revealing Harry's erection and flushed skin. Tom reached in under the fabric and tweaked Harry's nipple, causing a gasp to rip from the boy's throat. Wordlessly, Harry lift his arms, as a silent command for Tom to remove the annoying gown altogether. Tom obliged and as the clothing was removed and thrown away, he wrapped his arms around Harry's stomach and kissed his chest, licked it... nibbled on Harry's hardening nipples.

"Tom..."

Harry started to roll his hips over Tom's in an almost desperate attempt to create friction. Tom was still wearing his robes, so Harry gave an annoyed grunt and tried to pull the fabric down Tom's shoulders.

"Take it off," Harry whispered, panting and feeling more aroused than ever before. This was new. A whole new feeling. Masturbating while thinking of Tom was one thing. Masturbating while having marbles up his ass was another thing. Having Tom close to him, about to have real sex, kissing him, touching him, being naked in the actual presence of him... Now _that _was something completely else.

Tom sniggered and started to take his robes off. And Harry drank in his appearance as it was revealed to him - the porcelain skin, the muscles, the slenderness... He was growing eager, and batted away Tom's fingers after a while to simply undress the man himself. He pulled the robes away, growing frustrated as the robes got stuck and twisted in his eager fingers.

When finally Tom was in his naked glory, and Harry threw the damned robes away, he got shy again. They were completely naked, together, close to each other. Harry had seen Tom's member before, and he remembered that it was big. But he couldn't contain the small gasp as he saw Tom's length, straining against the man's stomach. Red and arching. And big. It was... incredible. Even though Tom was clearly turned on, he managed to keep such a straight face? Amazing. Harry loved it.

Harry was sitting on Tom's thighs, but started to inch closer to the man's groin, still blushing furiously. When their members finally touched, it was almost enough to make Harry come, and he gave a few more thrusts against Tom's member, loving the way it made his whole body tremble from the pleasure. He didn't even need friction, just the feeling of heated skin against skin was enough for him. Barely aware of what he was doing, Harry grabbed Tom and his own members and rubbed them together. It felt almost too good. It made him want to scream.

"Put it inside."

Tom's calm, whispered words made Harry come back to reality and he realized what he was doing. He froze and stared at Tom. Then he nodded jerkily and got up from Tom's groin. He positioned himself over Tom and took a hold of the man's member. He was just about to sit down, when Tom stopped him.

"You have to prepare yourself first. Or else it's going to hurt."

Harry stared nervously at him and threw a longing glance to Tom's member. Then the words' meaning finally struck him.

"I have to do it myself?" He asked, bewildered. His cheeks started to heat up again. Tom gave a smirk.

"Use your fingers."

Tom wanted to watch, Harry understood that much. But he still felt embarrassed enough to die. He actually had to stick his fingers up his ass while having Tom watching? It was insane, embarrassing, but still... incredibly arousing to think about.

So, after a few seconds of hesitation, Harry nodded and put his fingers into his mouth to get them wet. Then he reached behind, and put his free hand on Tom's flat stomach to support himself. As his wet fingers touched his sensitive hole, he shuddered and the excited bundle inside of him seemed to twitch with arousal. This was good. This felt good, Harry thought dazedly as the first finger slipped though and he gasped with pain-mixed pleasure. It had been a while, he realized as the finger went deeper. The second finger joined the first one, and Harry grit his teeth. The pain started to increase.

"Do it slower," Tom said, putting a warm hand over the one Harry had placed on his chest. Harry nodded, and stopped for a few seconds. Then he let both of his fingers slip in deeper, massaging, and sliding inside of him. He enjoyed the feeling for a little while, letting the fingers slip in and out. It started to feel good again, so he started to spread his fingers a little to ease the skin around his opening. It hurt, but not too much. So Harry continued and noticed with relief that the pain quickly went away. After a few more seconds, he gave Tom a heated glance and swallowed.

"I'm ready."

Tom didn't say anything, but smirked and nodded. Harry kept his gaze on Tom's chest as he finally lowered himself onto Tom's hot cock. The head went in, and Harry hissed. He stopped momentarily before lowering himself further, feeling the large member slip deep inside. It hurt. Badly. It was bigger than his fingers. But somehow, the pain was strangely pleasurable. Was it because it was Tom?

"Ah..." It was finally inside. Tom's thighs met Harry's buttocks and for a few seconds, Harry didn't move. The pain was intense, and he wanted to get used to it before even thinking about his next move. Tom's hands came to rest on Harry's flushed thighs and Harry opened his previously closed eyes to look at the man. Tom still looked calm, but there was passion in his eyes. Passion and desire. The pain was going away rapidly. Harry gave a small, testing thrust. It still hurt a bit, but now there was pleasure as well. So Harry moved again. And again. And again.

"Tom... Ah..." Harry didn't know what he said, and he didn't care because the pain was barely there anymore and the feeling of being so utterly full was enough to send him into a bliss-like state. So Harry put his hands on Tom's chest and heaved himself up, only to sit down again, hard. It was good. It felt good! Harry leaned forward, against Tom's chest and moved his hips even more eagerly. The way it moved inside of him was amazing, and Harry would've said so, if he was still capable of forming words. His mouth hung open as pants, moans and gasps tore from his throat. One of his hands found his slippery member and started to pump it almost furiously.

"So... Good!"

It wasn't enough though. It wasn't deep enough, or hard enough. Harry grinded, rubbed and thrust as hard as he could, but it wasn't enough. He gave a frustrated moan. Then a gasp, as Tom had flipped them around again. Tom sniggered and grabbed Harry's butt.

"Enough dominance?"

Harry nodded dazedly and Tom bent down to whisper;

"Do you want me to fuck you harder?"

"...Yes!" Harry moaned and almost sobbed with pleasure as Tom drove deep inside, forcing Harry deeper into the matress. Harry tried to spread his legs wider, to let Tom come closer. Tom grabbed his thighs and lift them a bit before plunging inside again, only to pull out just a quickly. Each time he repeated this motion, it left Harry completely breathless. He was still pumping himself, fast and hard and desperate.

"Do you love it? Do you like having me inside?" Tom whispered hotly against his ear and Harry, still being incapable of forming words, nodded. His hips started to meet up with Tom's hard thrusts, driving the hard member even deeper inside, to the point of almost causing pain, but it didn't hurt and it felt like everything was set on sweet fire!

"Harder!" Harry moaned and wrapped his legs around Tom's hips. "Harder... Please!" He wrapped his arms around Tom's chest and gripped the long hair as Tom drove inside of him again. Harry locked his feet around his to hold him there for a little while, grinding and rubbing against the man. Forcing the cock deeper. "Fuck, yes..."

Tom flipped them around again, and Harry was ready this time. He leaned back a little, putting his hands on Tom's thighs, and lift his knees so that he could easier let the member slip inside. Moaning and grunting, Harry stared at the cock going in and out of him, until he finally gave an especially hard thrust and kept the member inside. Harry threw his head back and focused on the grinding and the rubbing and the pleasure. It was insane, erotic, desperate, and most of all... It was so good. He wrapped his fingers around his member again and rubbed it, feeling himself closing in on his orgasm. His opening started to quiver around Tom's cock.

Suddenly, Tom sat up, grabbed Harry hips to pull him down hard and then he put his open mouth against Harry's sweaty neck. And bit.

"AH!" Harry finally came hard, splattering over him and Tom, letting his hips undulate jerkingly on their own accord to ride out the climax. Tom's fangs sunk deep into his neck and Harry loved it. It felt like he was dreaming. The pain and the pleasure nearly drowned him and for a few seconds, his vision went blank. He heard how Tom swallowed his blood, and then the man let go of Harry, who was still high on the insane pleasure.

After a minute, they had both calmed down a bit. Tom's face still lay plastered against Harry's sore neck, and Harry rested his cheek against the side of Tom's head. Suddenly, Harry heard Tom snigger.

"I could never let anyone but me see you like this, Harry."

Harry couldn't help but to chuckle.

"Don't worry. No one but you could ever do this to me."

Tom leaned back to face Harry. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then they closed the distance and kissed, long and passionately. Satisfied, for now.

"We should sleep. Your first test is tomorrow."

Harry sighed and frowned.

"You should've told me about the tests. I have no idea what to do."

Tom slipped out of him, causing a small hiss from the younger male. He murmured a cleansing spell, without using his wand, Harry noticed. Then he pulled Harry down with him on the mattress, pulling the blanket over them both.

"Don't worry about it. You'll get instructions. You're _my_ partner after all. I'm sure you'll do well."

Harry yawned and settled against Tom's chest. All he could do was to trust Tom, right? And Tom was there, right beside him. Somehow, Tom seemed even more beautiful now, with sweat rolling down his forehead, glowering cheeks... Harry's eyes slipped shut.

For now, he just wanted to sleep.

tbc.

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Tadaa. What do you think? I hope you liked the lemon, cuz I worked really hard on that one. Took me like two hours to write it and rewrite it.

Please review.


	14. Chapter 13

I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters

I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. They belong to JKR.

I own the plot of this fic, and all the characters that are not from the book. I came up with them, thus they belong to me. If you try to steal/copy them, it's a crime and I'll make you regret it. (evil snicker)

Warnings - slash (yaoi), darkness, yadi-yahoo... you know the drill.

a/n - I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. You know how I am. God, I'm sorry! Really. I've really been very busy, even though my summer break's finally started. Sorry, ok?

Chapter thirteen.

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"Ow, ow, fucking ow!" Harry groaned as he sat up on the bed, massaging his buttocks while doing so. He was sore all over, and his ass hurt like hell, but still... He glanced towards the still sleeping lord and smiled. It was worth it.

Tom really was glorious. Especially now, when he was asleep. The man wasn't smirking or scowling or radiating evilness. He was just... sleeping. His normally stoic face was smooth and totally unconscious. The pale lips were slightly parted, and thanks to Harry's improved hearing, he could hear every one of the calm breaths the man took. The naked chest was slowly going up and down as he breathed. One of Tom's arms was tucked under the pillow, while the other was splayed out on the side. He looked almost human.

_Yep, definitely worth it._

Harry smiled and felt a little like a wife looking at her beloved husband. However, the idea didn't exactly attract him, so he shook his head and made a face as he stood up from the bed and took a few staggering and rather painful steps towards the chair, on which his clothes had been thrown at. 'Clothes' was an overstatement, Harry thought, frowning. It was only a hospital gown, and no underwear. He might as well be naked, he thought with irritation. None the less he picked the fabric up and was just about to put it on as an amused voice was heard from the bed.

"You're actually going to wear that again?"

Harry turned to Tom with an embarrassed smile. Tom was now leaning on his hand, staring sleepily at Harry. Harry stared at him, then he glanced toward the piece of clothing in his hand.

"Then what am I supposed to wear? I can't be running around naked." he said and gave the man an annoyed frown. Tom snickered and stretched his still sleeping limbs.

"Well, that would've been rather pleasurable for me, however..." He pointed towards a big closet next to the bed. "See if you can't find something in there. If not, I'll order some new clothes for you." And with that, the man sunk down into the pillows again, snuggling them with a content sigh. Harry stared at him a few seconds, suddenly getting the urge to laugh. Who would've thought the Dark Lord Voldemort was actually one of those who liked to sleep in and snuggle his pillows? Well, all evil lords must have at least _one_ human side, Harry thought and turned to the closet.

There were really a lot of clothes in there. Where on earth did Tom get a hold of them? For some reason, Harry found it hard to imagine Tom taking a shopping tour in Diagon Alley. They were all cloaks and robes. No normal clothes, but Harry hadn't expected there to be. He was fairly used to wearing wizard-wear by now, even though he had thought they looked like girl's dresses in the beginning. Finally he chose a black robe with a broad, silky belt at the waist. The belt was dark green.

He put it on and admired himself in the mirror. The robe was a bit too big, which was to be expected, but it didn't look too bad. The sleeves reached past his hand, so that only his fingers peeked out.

Suddenly, Harry noticed that his face felt unusually... free. That's when it hit him - he wasn't wearing his glasses! And... Apparently, he didn't need to. His vision was as perfect as his hearing, and Harry gave an excited smile. He had always hated those awful glasses, since they were a constant reminder of his past life with the Dursley's. He had had those glasses for as long as he could remember, and it was pure heaven to finally be without them.

"You look happy," Tom said as he came up behind Harry and put on a black cloak with elegant, green details at the hem of the shoulders. "You should always wear a cloak around here. It's a proof of your status."

"I'm finally getting rid of those glasses, that's why I'm happy." Harry said and turned to look at Tom, who was currently dressed in nothing. Well, except for the sheets wrapped around his hips. Harry couldn't help but to sigh disappointedly at the sight. Tom sniggered and put his hands on Harry's hips.

"Already up for another round, Harry?" He whispered into Harry's ear, sending almost violent shivers down Harry's back. Harry wrapped his arms around Tom's shoulders and buried his nose against the man's neck.

"Maybe I am," he said and gave the Lord a slight nibble and smirked teasingly as he could hear Tom's pulse speed up. Once again he marveled at his amazing hearing. "Are you?" He purred and leaned back a little to be able to see Tom's face. The Lord was smirking in that way Harry loved; that dominant, hungry way that told Harry that pleasure was on the way. However...

"I'm sorry, but neither of us have the time for that. Your first test begins in about twenty minutes."

Harry groaned and let go of Tom who went past him, towards the closet. Harry took a seat on the chair and stared at the floor with a frown.

"I had almost forgotten all about those." He murmured, his previous joy gone. "What if I don't make it? What's gonna happen to me then? I'm already a vampire, so it's not like I can go back to Hogwarts and say 'Hey guys, I changed my mind! Missed me?'" Harry snorted with irritation while letting his eyes linger on Tom as said man let the sheets fall to the floor. Such a glorious man he was. Harry smirked a little, before he remembered how annoyed he was. "You really should've told me about the tests," he muttered.

Tom sighed irritated as he put his dark red robe on and turned to Harry.

"I do believe I have already apologized and explained myself to you."

"Yeah, but... Who the hell forgets something like that?" Harry said, starting to feel angry. Tom glared at him in the mirror.

"It wouldn't have made any difference, Harry. Even if I had told you about the tests, you wouldn't have been able to prepare yourself."

"What? Why not?"

"Because, Harry, you turned into a vampire yesterday. You couldn't have prepared yourself when you were human, and even now, you're not even used to your improved senses yet," Tom said coldly.

"But I don't know what to do!" Harry exclaimed, standing up from the chair.

"You'll know soon, because they will tell you!" Tom sneered back.

"Well, isn't that just great?!" Harry snarled, staring straight into Tom's angry eyes. Tom looked pissed, as if he was going to start yelling at him, but to Harry's utter shock, Tom grabbed his chin and bent down to give him a kiss. The anger melted away instantly, against Harry's will. Harry stared at the man, feeling the faint warmth against his lips. Tom gave him a stern stare.

"You're nervous. It's only natural, but do remember this," he said and pulled Harry close, so that he could let his lips ghost over Harry's neck, giving Harry delightful goosebumps. "It is _my_ blood that flows in your veins and because of that, you are strong," he whispered, barely audible. Harry's breath quickened as Tom's hands went down to caress his hips and graze his buttocks through the fine material of the gown. "And afterwards, you might get a treat."

He smirked at Harry who blushingly smirked back. If Harry had to be honest with himself, he was still annoyed with the Dark Lord for not telling him about the test before they got there, but he found himself incapable of staying angry. He still sensed there was something Tom didn't tell him, though. Harry didn't have the energy to keep arguing, so he chose not to ask Tom about it. Maybe it was only in his head.

"Fine," Harry muttered after a few seconds. Tom gave him an amused smirk and turned back to the mirror to straighten his tussled hair out and tie it loosely at the neck so that it flowed out over the back. Harry sighed, feeling slightly bored despite his nervousness about the approaching test he was forced to do. He sat down on the chair again, watching Tom get ready for the day. Or was it night?

"What time is it anyway?" He sighed and played with the hem of his cloak. "And why do I have to wear a cloak?"

Tom turned to him and started walking towards the door, obviously expecting Harry to follow him.

"It's nine pm in the mortal world. It doesn't matter now, since it's always night here," Tom explained, opened the door and went out into the corridor. Harry did the same. "The cloak you're wearing shows other vampires your status. Not only do you belong to me, but you are also a _vampira magika_, which means that you used to be a wizard and that you have certain magic abilities that other vampires do not. It'll make other vampires give you the respect you deserve, and in fact, you should expect to be respected, Harry. You're not just anyone, in this world."

Harry sighed. It was confusing.

"Apparently," he replied. "I'm never just anyone." It was true. Even when he still lived with the Dursleys, he hadn't just been someone. He had been the weird, little guy with ugly glasses and clothes that were five sizes too big. When he came to Hogwarts, he was Harry Potter, 'The Boy Who Lived'. And now... What was he now, to be precise? Tom Riddle's pet? Vampira Magika? Harry glanced at Tom again.

As they walked through the corridors, they met other people that Harry had not seen before. They were mostly young men and women, but also older people. They were all dressed in similar clothes; gowns, robes and elegant jewelries. What really caught Harry's attention was the fact that almost all of them bowed to Tom as they walked by. Several of them bowed to Harry as well, and Harry was about to bow back every time, but Tom gave him a stern glance.

"Do not bow back, Harry. They bow to you because you are superior."

Harry stared at Tom as they walked. What kind of status did the man have? Everyone behaved as if he was a freaking duke. And just what kind of status did Harry have now? He _belonged_ to Tom, didn't he? Even though he still didn't like the sound of that, he couldn't help but to feel a bit proud. Harry smirked and glanced at Tom's back. He might've belonged to the dark man, but Harry would prove to Tom that he was Harry's property as well.

They finally reached the great hall Harry had been shown the previous night... or day... whatever, where Trenton was already waiting for him, accompanied by ten or eleven other vampires. Trenton smiled and walked to meet Tom and Harry. In many ways, Trenton reminded Harry of some kind of grandfather-figure. Always kind and smiling it seemed, quite ironically - he was a vampire after all.

"Pleasure to see you again, lad. Are you prepared?" Trenton said and grinned at Harry who gave a polite smile and shrug.

"I don't know, since I don't know what you want me to do just yet," he said and sent a small glare to Tom who thoroughly ignored him with a slightly bored face.

Trenton laughed at this and patted Harry's shoulder.

"How true!" He turned to Tom with a smug smirk. "_Did you fuck him last night, Tom? I hope you treated him good." _The elderly vampire chuckled and winked at Tom, who didn't look very amused by the obscene joke.

Harry stared at Trenton, gaping. What. The fuck?

He had thought of Trenton almost like a Dumbledore-like person. It just felt really wrong to hear him say something like that. It was like hearing Jesus say 'shit'. Tom glanced at Harry who was still gaping at the older man, smirked, gave a short laugh and crossed his arms over his chest.

"_That's none of your business, Trenton. And for your information, Harry speaks Parsel just as well as you and me."_

Trenton stared at Tom for a second, then he turned his eyes to Harry who gave him a sarcastic smile. So much for the kind-old-man-act, Harry thought, snorting. Were all vampires perverts?

"But I thought you said Harry was a Gryffindor?" Trenton said, obviously not caring about embarrassment. Harry quirked an eyebrow and glanced at Tom. Tom glanced back.

"Trenton is also a vampire magika," Tom explained. "He went to Hogwarts about a hundred years ago."

"One hundred and eleven, to be exact," Trenton said, smiling.

"Yes. So I told him you were a Gryffindor student. You don't mind, do you?" Tom smirked at Harry who frowned. Why did Tom always have to act so damn superior? It confused Harry. Damn him and his dominant vampire manners. Harry snorted and turned his face away to show his irritation.

"I was almost placed in Slytherin, if you must know."

Trenton blinked with confusion.

"Then how come you became a Gryffindor?"

Harry gave him a dark, smug look before replying in Parsel.

"_In a moment of weakness, I begged for it."_

"Shall we start?" Someone said in the background, interrupting Trenton as he looked as if he was about to say something. Harry gave Trenton one last look before he turned his back on the older vampire and walked towards the small crowd in the middle of the room. There were five men left. The other vampires had drawn back from the center of the room, and were now watching Harry from the shadows. Three of the vampires were men, and the two others were women. The men studied Harry with appreciating faces as he walked towards them. The women just smiled mysteriously towards him before turning their gazes towards the floor.

"Welcome, Mr. Potter," one of the male vampires said and gave Harry a smug look. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and he wore red robes, much like Tom's, but this man looked younger. Harry gave a polite smile but didn't say anything. It felt like the man was seeing through his clothes as he stood before him, and remembered Tom's words with a disgusted shudder.

_"There are a lot of vampires who would love to have you as their mate, Harry."_

"We will now begin your first test. My name is Jade. Are you ready, sir?" One of the women said and interrupted Harry's uncomfortable thoughts. She had blonde hair and dark green eyes that matched her olive green dress nicely. She pulled out a paper from within her robes and layers of expensive fabric. Harry just nodded and crossed his arms over his chest to hide his nervousness. He glanced towards Tom who was watching him intensely.

"One of the basic skills for a vampire, is the ability to move your body at extreme speeds. Also, a vampire should be able to command the air to carry him. In other words, a vampire should be able to walk on the air. Using the extreme speed and the ability to walk on air, a vampire can create an illusion that he or she is actually flying," Jade said, reading from the paper with a slightly bored face.

Harry snapped his mouth shut as he realized he had been gaping. What the hell was she saying? He was going to walk on the air? That was madness. He had never seen Tom walk on air. Why did he have to do it? Then again, Harry thought, Tom was able to move his body very fast. But it still didn't help the fact that Harry had no idea what the woman was blabbering about. His nervousness had developed into some kind of sickness that made him a little dizzy. He threw a glance towards the roof. He could barely even see it because it was so far up, and the room was only dimly lit.

"Meaning," Jade continued. "That you, Mr Potter, have to show us that you're able, not only to move your body at extreme speeds, but also to command the air to lift you, no less than three meters up."

Harry was motionless for a few seconds before he brutally was snapped back into reality. He blinked and swallowed. Glancing towards Tom, Harry tried to send the man a few panic-filled signals, to let Tom understand that he had no clue, what so ever, of what he should do. So he turned to the woman again.

"Uh-huh, and how exactly am I supposed to do that?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound like an idiot. "I've never done anything like that before." Jade smiled with amusement.

"That's why we're here, Mr. Potter. To show you how it's done." She bent down a little and gave him a smile. "To be frank, almost no vampires pass this test on the first try, so don't panic if you don't get it right away."

Harry nodded, relieved that he had teachers. Jade grasped the hand of the other woman, who had red curly hair and a brown gown, and walked away with her. They stopped about three meters away from Harry and stared at him.

"To be able to create the illusion of flying, you must be able to control your speed. A vampire's soul is a mixture of humanity and demonic power, which means that we are able to break the laws of nature. Only the humans are chained to it, because that was God's will. But we're not children of Him anymore," Jade said and turned to the other woman.

"It's really not that hard to do," the other woman said in a thick Irish accent and smiled. "Just imagine yourself being there already, and then force your body to move." One second later, she was right in front of Harry and tapped him on the nose, before she, in the blink of an eye, was back with Jade a few meters away. She giggled and smiled at Harry who stared at them. "Do you get it?"

"I-I think so." Harry swallowed and closed his eyes. He tried to picture himself standing right in front of Jade and the giggling, Irish vampire. When he opened his eyes, he hadn't moved one single centimeter. "Um, I probably did something wrong," he said and sent Jade an apologizing look. The woman smiled.

"Don't forget, you're the master of your own body. Command it, and it'll obey you. Focus."

Harry nodded and this time, he held his eyes open. The room seemed to darken as he stared at the two women, and concentrated on the spot right in front of them.

He was the master of his own body, wasn't he? Move! Go on, move, already! Harry quickly grew annoyed. If he didn't pass this test, it'd all be over, damnit. Damnit!

Obey me.

_Move._

Harry gasped as he, all of a sudden, stood right in front of Jade. The tip of his nose almost touched her chin. He stared at her slightly parted lips, in utter shock. He had moved? Had he moved, or had they moved? What happened? The lips then turned into a smile, and Harry took a shaky step back.

"Well, it looks like you passed the first part of the first test. Well done, Mr. Potter!" She gave him a pat on the shoulder and grabbed the other woman's arm and dragged her off with her. The Irish vampire turned to Harry and smiled before she waved.

"Well done, Mr. Potter!" She said before Jade pulled her away. Harry smiled with relief and turned to Tom who, despite his cold face, had a glimpse of pride in his red eyes.

"Now you've mastered the first part of test one," the man who had been giving Harry smug looks said and took a step closer to Harry who, by instinct, took a small step back. However, he immediately realized that by doing so, he showed signs of fear. He could imagine what Tom would say about it.

_"It is beneath you."_

Harry made an annoyed face and straightened his back, meeting the mysterious gaze of the male vampire.

"My name," the vampire said, smirking. "Is John. And I will teach you how to command the air to lift you."

There was still something about John that Harry really didn't like. All of his new senses told him to stay guarded. So Harry didn't say anything, or do anything. He just faced the other man until John quirked an eyebrow, obviously bothered by the fact that Harry wasn't submitting to him already. Harry then smirked and took a step closer to John.

"Show me," he said simply. John stared at him for a few seconds. Then he turned his back to Harry with a resigned snort.

"This one's a little harder than the previous one," John said and took a few steps away, so that Harry would be able to see properly. "But it's the same basic principle. Imagine yourself floating on the air, walking on it, as if it was the ground. Command the air around you to lift you up," John said and Harry gaped as the man lift his foot and put it down on what could've been an invisible stool. Harry stared in awe at John, as it looked like the other vampire was walking up an invisible stair. The man was actually walking on air?! Amazing!

John smirked as he saw Harry's awe-stricken face.

"I'm not really flying. Nor am I walking on air, Harry. Using the speed, I'm able to move my body just a few centimeters each second. The air will only allow you to use it to climb. You can't stand still on it. You always have to move your body, or you will fall."

Harry gaped at the man. John had been honest; this was more complicated. He barely even understood what John was talking about.

"What? Why do you have to move your body? I can't see that you're moving," Harry said, and scratched his neck. John sniggered and stilled completely in air. The next second, he fell to the floor, but landed safely on his feet.

"I'm moving too fast and too short of a distance for you to see the difference. Only a few inches one way, and then back. Creating an illusion that I'm standing still, even though I'm constantly forced to move, or I will fall. The air isn't compact. The only thing we can do is to force the air to lift us up, but as soon as we're up, we have to keep stepping on new air to be able to keep ourselves up."

Harry was still confused, and John could obviously see that. The older man gestured towards the floor.

"Imagine that the spot you're standing on right now will fall at any second. You must remove your foot, or you will fall, too, right?" Harry nodded and John looked pleased. "Good. Now, imagine that this entire floor is made out of thin ice. It breaks as soon as you step on it, but as soon as you're able to find a new piece of ice to step on, you'll be fine."

Harry nodded and smiled. He finally started to understand. It was still rather complex though.

"It's the same with air. You can't stand on it for more than a second, because the air isn't compact."

"I get it," Harry said and John took a step back, watching as Harry turned his gaze to the floor.

He was already starting to concentrate on the air around him. It was like it was whispering to him. Harry's sensitive ears twitched a little as everything seemed to slow down a little. It was as if his whole body was singing to him; this is it. This was right! He was finally what he was supposed to be. The air was already respecting him, Harry noted with a slight smirk. It was asking him what he was doing, and who he was.

_Listen to me._

Harry took a swift step up and heaved himself up, and another step, and another, over and over again, until he was more than five meters up. He stopped and started to move his feet a few inches at the time, so fast he could barely even see his own feet. It created an illusion of flying. Harry grinned and threw a glance towards Tom who was looking pleased, even though he wasn't exactly radiating happiness. The proud look on Tom's face was enough for Harry, who stopped moving his feet and fell through the air, towards the floor.

He landed with a 'thud', and Harry made a face as his feet hurt a little from the landing, but never the less, he landed perfectly on his feet and then straightened, just like a cat. John stared at him, gaping. Harry clearly saw the shock in his eyes, and he could feel how much it satisfied him. It was like everything was falling back into place in small pieces. Harry turned to Tom who gave him the closest thing to a real smile Harry had ever seen on his lover before. Harry smirked back at him.

He heard spreading applause throughout the large room. Trenton walked up to him, smiling as always and shook Harry's hand.

"Well done, lad! You passed the first test!"

tbc.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

There you have it. I hope you liked it. I'm sorry for being so late. I was working really hard with some other fictions, and I've been busy with my summer job... so yeah. I hope you liked the first test, even though I'm not very pleased with the way it came out. The next test will hopefully be more interesting.

Please REVIEW. ok?


	15. Chapter 14

I do not own Harry Potter.

I own the plot of this fic and any character that may appear that's not from the original books written by JK Rowling. If anyone copies the content of this fic to use in your own fics and/or claim as your own work, it's a crime, and your account will be erased if you are caught. And I can assure you - you will get caught sooner or later. I've got many faithful fans who are watching out for me. So do not steal MY work. Write it yourself, you pathetic, non-talented loser. (snort) Can't even write your own material... Laaame.

Warnings; ... (sigh) You already know this! Slash, random darkness and vampires. There you have it. Again.

a/u: Sorry for always taking so long. I never realize how late I am with the update until it's already too late to do anything about it. I hope you can forgive me.

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"How was that?" Harry asked and glanced at Tom with a small smile, hoping to see that proud smile once again on Tom's lips. Granted, Tom turned to him with a satisfied smirk.

"You did very well, Harry."

Content with the reply he received, Harry smiled and inched a bit closer to Tom as they walked through the corridors back to their room. Tom glanced at him, but didn't seem to mind Harry's sudden wish to be closer to him. Harry stared at the hem of his robes as he walked. His feet kept pushing the fabric forward and made the dust escape his feet.

"Tom?" Harry asked as they reached their quarters. Tom gave a sound of acknowledgement before opening the door. "When is the second test?"

"Tomorrow night", Tom answered. "Now's not the time to think about that." He gave Harry a heated look. "I believe I promised you a treat if you did well."

Harry followed Tom inside the room, closed the door and fiddled with the doorknob behind his back as he met Tom's gaze and swallowed. All it took for him to get aroused was those red eyes on him, it seemed. Harry's body was already starting to feel itchy... as if it yearned for something. And Harry had a feeling it wasn't just sex. But for now, until Harry figured out what he wanted, Tom's hot body against his own would do just fine. His breath quickened as Tom started to unbutton his robes in front of Harry.

"Would you like that, Harry?" He whispered and smirked as Harry nodded. "Then come over here. In this world, it's still only afternoon. We do have a few hours before dinner."

Harry smirked, loving the way Tom spoke. Loving the things Tom insinuated. Loving the pale skin that was slowly revealed to him.

"So much spare time. Whatever should we do with it?" Harry sniggered. He could feel how the darkness in Tom started to become a part of him as well. How his sense humor had turned more dark and sarcastic. How his thoughts had turned blacker. How he took pleasure in this... sin. It almost scared Harry. He didn't want to admit it to Tom, but he didn't want the human side of him to vanish.

Right now, however, he didn't care about humanity. The raw side of him took over.

Harry stalked up to Tom and plastered his lips against the older man's chest. He licked and nibbled at the stiff nipple and savored the groans it earned him, as he slowly pulled Tom's robes off. Harry wasn't a fool; he knew he was only able to do this because Tom allowed him to. Tom was always in control. Harry wouldn't want it any other way. Still, a little dominance now and then sure felt good. Tom's hands started to pull at Harry's clothes as well, so Harry unbuttoned his robes and let Tom's fingers take them off. They slipped down his shoulder and Harry shuddered as Tom's slim fingers tickled his bare shoulders.

"So pretty", Tom murmured and played with Harry's hair. Harry stopped his ministration and perked his head up to stare at Tom. To say something like that? It wasn't like the Dark Lord he knew. Tom's eyes were filled with almost grim passion and Harry helplessly lost himself in them, and when Tom bent down to capture Harry's lips in a kiss, Harry went almost limp as the waves of pleasure coursed through him. It was as if he had been waiting for this ever since last night.

It was amazing, what such a small thing could do. It wasn't natural, was it? Maybe Tom had some kind of technique to make Harry go weak in his presence. Nevertheless, Harry wasn't going to complain.

"B-bed..." He whispered dazedly as Tom's lips went to caress his sensitive neck. Tom nodded and let his arms embrace Harry's waist. Harry reacted on instinct and put his arms around Tom's neck as the older man lift him off of the floor. Harry bent into the embrace and nibbled at Tom's lower lip as the lord brought them both to the large bed a few feet away.

Harry let out a sigh when Tom laid him on the bed, not too gently, with raw lust in his red orbs. It almost surprised Harry how wanting Tom could make him behave; No shame, no embarrassment. Because Tom was always in charge. Even though Harry was sure his earlier suspicions about Tom wanting to use Harry as a pet were incorrect, Tom, it seemed, really thought of Harry as his property. And to be honest, Harry didn't mind. As long as Tom was his property as well.

So when Tom climbed after him, reminding Harry of an angry tiger about to feed on his prey, Harry spread his legs as wide as he could without Tom having to tell him to do so. Tom smirked evilly at this and sunk into Harry's embrace, pressing his warm body against Harry's colder skin.

"Hah!" It felt good. It was almost ridiculous how perfect it all was. For it to be this amazing... There had to be _something_. There was always a downside. Always a catch. Nevertheless, Harry's arms hugged the Dark Lord closer, as the older man started to rub his lower parts against Harry's, making the younger vampire cry out for more. In a heartbeat, Harry's yearning grew even stronger, so he wrapped his legs around Tom's hips and started to thrust back with desperation he had rarely experienced before.

It wasn't quite as intense as it had been the previous night, when they had sex for the first time, but it was close. And this time, Harry yearned for something else. Why couldn't he figure out what it was? He groaned with frustration, as the realization never came to him.

"Tom..." Harry moaned and bent in to kiss the pale set of lips. They responded and Harry could feel a hand in the back of his head, pressing Harry's face closer to Tom's. Harry could barely even breathe. When the fierce kiss ended, he threw a glance downwards and stared dazedly at the scene before him. Tom had been inside of him last time, but thankfully it seemed Tom had no such intentions this time. Harry was still sore. Tom probably knew it.

The older vampire's engorged member was rubbing and massaging and thrusting against Harry's own penis, which was straining and demanded more attention. Harry was gripping Tom's shoulder for support as he continued to watch what they were doing, and it wasn't until Tom's hand finally came to rub their members together that Harry threw his head back to yell out his pleasure. His fingers dug deeper into Tom's shoulder, because at this rate, Harry couldn't think straight. There was something other than lust this time. Harry, despite his dazed state, was aware of it.

Having sex with Tom would always be incredible, but for Harry to go this rigid? No, there had to be something more.

Harry's sharp fingernails finally broke through Tom's skin and a few drops of blood came out. Harry snapped.

With a groan of want, Harry withdrew his fingers and licked at them. It was as if everything went white. Harry was barely aware of what he was doing, or the pleasured moans Tom was releasing, when he finally put his mouth to Tom's neck, letting his fangs grow long with need and then he bit. Hard.

Hot, thick blood poured out on his tongue and Harry grunted with pleasure as he swallowed and let the blood run down his throat over and over again. It was insane... Ungodly good.

And Tom groaned as his thrust seemed to get irregular and harder. Harry's legs and arms hugged the man even closer, as if he was afraid Tom might try to run away. Tom didn't show any signs of wanting to escape though. In fact, Harry could feel a hand grab the back of his head again and grip his hair, pulling him closer. Harry growled dazedly and gripped Tom's shoulders, clinging desperately to the other man.

They were a sweaty heap of limbs and the wet feeling of skin against skin proved to be too much for Harry who, after a few especially hard thrusts, came with a violent tremble and a muffled moan. He didn't stop drinking and he kept thrusting, because even though he had come, it still felt too damn good to stop now.

It tasted too good. A metallic taste. It filled him with warmth and heat and passion and it was _Tom's_ blood. Tom's blood on his tongue, in his throat.

When Tom also came, splattering all over them both, mixing his cum with Harry's, they both lay spent and satisfied for a few moments. Harry slowly stopped drinking. He withdrew his fangs and continued to just lick and kiss at the wound he had caused on Tom's fine skin. He was still completely out of it. It was just like being drunk... Not that Harry had ever been, but he coukd imagine. Then finally he left Tom's neck and turned his head up. Tom stared at him with an unreadable expression. At least it wasn't anger, and for that Harry was glad. It hit him that he had never asked Tom's permission to feed from him.

But the warm, tingling feeling Harry was experiencing now was well worth it, even if Tom had been angry with him.

Tom bent in to kiss Harry's lips and licked the blood away from the corners of Harry's mouth. Harry's hands came up to caress Tom's neck and his fingers played with the long, fine hair for a few minutes. They didn't speak, they just lay embracing each other, spent and exhausted.

"How did it taste? I hope I didn't spoil your appetite", Tom suddenly asked and glanced at Harry, smirking, as if he had known that this was going to happen. Harry blushed and gave him a slight glare. Suddenly, he felt ashamed of what he had just done, and put a hand over his mouth. He had just fed from his lover, from Tom. He had bit Tom and drank his blood. And during sex. What was he, an animal?

"Harry?" Tom persisted. Harry sighed, trying to act indifferent. After all, Tom had fed off him last night.

"Well, if you must know, I was barely even aware of what I was doing. I can't remember the taste."

Tom sniggered and pulled Harry closer, despite Harry's protests. It still didn't feel right. It should've been an act of love, of passion perhaps, but Harry felt ill. He had actually grown fangs to bite someone. He had stolen blood from another body by biting it. And Harry hadn't even been in control of himself. Harry sighed. As expected; there was a downside to being a vampire.

"Of course you can't. It was only your second time drinking blood and, this time, you actually took it yourself. It's always a strange feeling when you bite someone for the first time."

"I've drank your blood before. What's the difference?" Harry muttered, still feeling unexpectedly grumpy about it. He felt so... primal.

"There's a higher level of pleasure when you actually bite someone and drink their blood fresh, compared to drinking the blood from a bottle. It's a vampire's nature to bite and feed from a living being."

"I see..."

Tom stared at him for a few seconds before giving another evil smirk that sent small shudders down Harry's spine. The Dark Lord leaned closer to Harry and sent warm puffs of air over Harry's neck and face.

"Did you like it?"

Harry was going to give a snippy reply like 'the sex or the blood?', but judging from Tom's smirk, he realized that the lord was referring to both. Harry blushed and turned his face away.

"Yeah, but..." Harry glanced at the wound on Tom's neck and frowned slightly. "Didn't it hurt?" The wound was already starting to heal, but Harry could see how deep it was. It looked like Tom had been bitten by a dog or something. A dog with very long canines. Tom sniggered and Harry stared at the man as the black hair was somehow untied and flowed out around Tom's head, creating a black curtain around his and Harry's face.

"Do you remember last night?" Tom asked and pressed harder into Harry's body, while wrapping the blanket around them both. Harry swallowed and nodded. His legs were still embracing Tom's hips from their lovemaking. "Do you remember that I bit you?" Harry nodded again and turned his face away. Tom bent down to place a kiss on his temple. "Do you remember how it felt?"

Harry stared at the wound on Tom's neck again. He gave a weak smile and met Tom's intense gaze. He nodded again and Tom gave a content sigh.

"Good. There you have it", Tom said and laid his head against Harry's shoulder, as if he wanted to rest. "You and I are mates, Harry. It will always feel that good, because we belong together."

"Okay", Harry mumbled, starting to feel a bit sleepy himself, even though it was still only early afternoon.

"Are you tired?" Tom said, a bit muffled, since his mouth was pressed against the skin of Harry's shoulder.

"Kinda", Harry said and yawned, as if to prove his point. Tom gave a slight snigger.

"No wonder. The test must've drawn a lot of energy. It was your first time walking on air, too," Tom gave a short laugh. "The look on John's face...was highly amusing."

Harry smirked and sighed when Tom made a move to get up.

"Where are you going?"

Tom gave him a glance before getting up from the bed.

"I have to get ready for dinner. I have to attend tonight, because I have matters to discuss with Trenton. You, on the other hand, should stay here. You've fed from me already, so you won't get hungry for a while."

"But I-" Harry protested and sat up. He wanted to go with Tom. After what they had just done, couldn't the bastard at least stay with him until he fell asleep?

"You need to rest. Don't forget, your next test is tomorrow. You'll need a lot of strength to pass."

Harry sighed and nodded, staring angrily at the blanket that covered him up. Why did Tom always behave like this? So smugly superior. It wasn't that Harry minded - this was the personality he loved, however... It was rather confusing when Tom acted all loving and considerate one minute, and the next cold and distant. Damn vampire. And Harry was still sure that there was something Tom wasn't telling him. Something the man didn't want Harry to know just yet. Maybe it was something...bad.

"Tom", Harry said just as the now fully dressed and indifferent lord was about to open the door. Tom stopped and threw a glance at Harry over his shoulder. "Is there something...you want to tell me?" Tom didn't reply right away, and Harry was pretty sure he saw a quick flicker in the red eyes. But then Tom smirked and shook his head.

"What would that be?" And with that, Tom left. Harry glared at the door before he lay down again and wrapped himself in the warm blankets. Fatigue started to make itself known as Harry's lids started to close. Harry sighed and awaited sleep to arrive, even though he was still somewhat angry.

Damn vampire.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Harry? Wake up."

Harry stirred and batted with his hand to make the owner of the voice go away.

"Noo..." he whined. "I wanna sleep..."

"Harry", the voice repeated, sounding more stern. Harry's darker side suddenly kicked in and, with his eyes closed, frowned with irritation.

"Shut up", he growled. "How dare you disturb my sleep?"

The voice sniggered coldly.

"Now, that's how a real vampire lord should sound", Someone sat down beside him, making the mattress slump a little. "But really, Harry, your test begins in about thirty minutes. You really should wake up."

Harry's eyes snapped open and he sat up, facing a cold but rather amused Tom. He stared at the man before scratching his head, feeling disoriented.

"What the hell? What's the time?" He asked, confused. Tom sighed with obvious annoyance and got up from the bed.

"You've slept for over eighteen hours", the man drawled. "That's the effect of drinking fresh blood for the first time. At least you should have quite a lot of energy stored up by now. So, wake up. Rise and shine, and all that..." Tom muttered, clearly annoyed because of something. Harry gave him a glance from where he sat in the bed, still naked, with the white blankets surrounding him.

"Didn't the dinner with Trenton go well?" He asked, studying Tom's irritated features.

"Get dressed already", Tom drawled, not answering the question, to Harry's annoyance, and pointed towards a chair on which some clothes were neatly placed.

Harry got up from the bed with a tired sigh and scratched his head as he made his way to the chair. The first thing he saw was a pair of black pants that Harry hadn't seen in the closet before. He turned to Tom with a puzzled expression. Tom smirked.

"You belong to the younger generation, Harry. So I got you some new clothes. Mine were too big for you anyway. However, I insist you wear a cloak over them. I still want you to show your status."

"My status, yeah yeah..." Harry murmured and glanced at the mirror, enjoying his new black pants. They were quite tight, and made of a denim-like material. He smiled gratefully at Tom who was reading some papers by his desk with a cold expression. Harry rolled his eyes, smirked and started looking for a shirt.

He found a grey button-up shirt with a strange looking design. Usually, the buttons were aligned in the center, but this particular shirt had the buttons going from the collar in the middle, and then made a sharp turn, so that the rest of the buttons were on the left side of the chest, almost reminding Harry of a kimono. The fabric the shirt was made of also seemed a bit thicker and more expensive than normal.

"It's made in Japan, if you were wondering", Tom drawled, sounding rather bored. "The fabric is made of silk, cotton and Japanese unicorn hair. I thought you'd like it."

"I do... I'm just not used to wearing fancy clothes like this", Harry mumbled while trying to button the complicated shirt. Tom sighed and went up to Harry to bat his hands away. Tom buttoned his shirt swiftly and straightened out Harry's collar. Harry stared blushingly at Tom, who wasn't looking back.

"Really, you're completely helpless at times, aren't you? Brat", Tom said, sounding both serious and teasing. Harry glared at Tom and turned away from him with an angry 'hmph.' He grabbed a dark green cloak and put it around his shoulders before muttering a quiet:

"Screw you, you sex-maniac..."

"Did you say something?" Tom asked, sounding rather annoyed.

"Absolutely not", Harry stated, opened the door and exited the room. "Let's go already."

They walked through the dark corridor in silence; Harry, still angry with Tom for mocking him - Tom, probably annoyed with Harry for acting like a child. When they finally reached the great hall, no one was there yet, so Harry leaned against the wall. He was trying to look as uncaring as possible, refusing to look at Tom, who was paying him the same amount of attention as Harry gave him. Harry grit his teeth and stared at the floor. It was true; he acted like a child. If not, he still acted like a human. Was that what Tom found annoying? Harry had noticed that Tom got in a bad mood whenever Harry said or did anything that was non-vampiric.

Great. Now it _bothered_ Harry that he still made contact with his human side. A little while ago, he was thinking about how he didn't want his human side to disappear. On the other hand, Harry wasn't human anymore. And he would probably never see his human friends again. So why keep the humanity?

But it wasn't as if Tom acted totally vampire-like all the time, either. Especially during those times when Tom seduced Harry, he acted rather human. Sweet almost. Maybe that's what Tom found annoying; that Harry brought out his suppressed humanity. What was it with Tom that Harry found attractive? Harry would've liked to say that it was Tom's caring and affectionate side, but that wasn't the truth. In the beginning, when Harry was still in desperate denial, it was the darkness in Tom that made Harry fall hopelessly in love. It was the dark side, the evil side of Tom that Harry loved.

Because Harry knew that the only one Tom would never hurt, was him.

Harry enjoyed watching Tom being cruel towards others. He couldn't deny that, no matter how human-like he wanted to be. So why couldn't Harry try and respect that and be a little more... evil? Someone who suited Tom's tastes better. Someone dark. Harry thought about how he had acted during the previous night and frowned. Too sweet, he thought, and was almost disgusted with himself. Blushing, stuttering... Helpless.

"Tom?" Harry said and turned to glance at the older vampire, standing a few meters away. Tom turned to look at him and Harry shuddered. There it was! That gaze... that cold, brutal gaze that he adored so much. "Do you... I mean..." Harry sighed, cursing himself for acting so weird. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

Harry swallowed and glared at his feet.

"For acting so stupid. I can't help it. I'm not acting the way I should, am I?"

Tom sighed and closed his eyes, unfolding his arms over his chest.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked, watching Harry turn his face away. "If you're referring to your lingering human behavior, that is something I expected. You've been a human for fifteen years. That's not something that changes overnight."

"But I... I wanted to be more like you..." Harry murmured and gave his lover another glance. "Ever since I got my human emotions back, I've been a wreck without even knowing it. I don't know how to deal with them. It was easier during those weeks of not having any feelings at all. I was so cold back then. So much like you, but I still don't want to lose my human side."

Tom stared at him and gave the closest thing to a soft smile Harry had ever seen on him.

"You were a very caring human", he said and turned his gaze to the dark roof. "Unlike me, who was born with a black Slytherin core, you were loving and caring. You will probably always have those attributes in you. But if you're worried about not making a good vampire, you don't have to worry much longer. You will see things and experience things that will change you. The darkness is a part of you, as you are a part of the darkness. Don't be afraid when the dark side of you starts to take over. It happens to all of us. It just hasn't happened to you, yet."

"Does that mean I'll become like you soon?" Harry asked and stared wide-eyed at Tom who hadn't removed his cold gaze from the roof. Tom smirked and gave Harry an amused, almost soft, glance.

"I hope you won't. I'm too cold. I want you to be warmer than me or we will both freeze to death." Tom stopped smiling. "Honestly…you're the first one in so long, who was able to bring out the little humanity I have left in me."

Harry stared at Tom, before turning away with a fierce blush. He could hear Tom snigger.

"Yes... Just like that."

"I'M SO SORRY!!" Trenton shouted and ran into the room, panting and grasping at his chest. "WE'RE LATE!" Five vampires followed him, John included. Harry gave the cocky vampire a cold glance before turning away. He threw a glance at the big clock on the wall.

"By two minutes", he said and gave Trenton an amused look. "It's not the end of the world."

Trenton seemed to calm down and cleared his throat.

"Of course not. Anyhow, since we're already a little late, I suggest you begin the test immediately. John, explain it to Harry!" And with that, Trenton swirled around, making his cloak fly, and took a seat on a chair by the wall. Harry mentally groaned as he realized that John would be his teacher again and gave the smirking vampire a look of deepest dislike. John didn't seem to care though. He just smirked and started to explain to the reluctant, younger vampire.

"The previous test was physical. This test is about your mental strength. To pass it, you must read my mind."

Harry stared at him, feeling confused.

"Read your mind?"

John nodded and scratched his chin with a thoughtful look.

"Yes, well...it's not just 'You're thinking about a dog', if that's what you're wondering. The vampiric mind, and the human mind for that matter, are both much more complex than that. There are hundreds of thoughts swirling around in there all the time. To be able to see the thought I'm focusing on at the moment, you need to be inside my mind, watching the images the thoughts give to me and translate my thoughts into words."

Harry blinked at John who was smiling confidently, as if he had just explained something really simple, like 'how to fry an egg.' There was no way in hell Harry would be able to do that! No way! Walking on air he could do, but to be inside another vampire's mind and...doing all of those things John had just explained? It was insane!

"Um..."

"You can start now. I've decided on which thought I will be focusing on. Hurry up." John closed his eyes and the room went silent. Obviously waiting for Harry to start.

"Uh... Am I supposed to know how to get into your mind? Cuz right now, I have no idea", Harry said and gave a deep sigh. "Why do you people always seem to think I know these things?"

John stared at him and gave another smirk, making Harry frown.

"Stop smirking at me, you low life", he said, and gave the rather surprised John a cold glare, then a sweet smile. "Just explain to me how it's done, okay?"

John was still for a few seconds, before throwing a nervous glance to Tom, who was watching the two from the wall.

"Right... Uh... To get into my mind, you have to shut down your own mind. The easiest way to do that is to close your eyes and try to listen. A vampire is able to hear thoughts through the air. You have to find my mind and try to understand what I'm thinking about."

Harry nodded nervously and John shut his eyes again, waiting for Harry to start. Harry shut his eyes tightly and started to listen. The only thing he could hear for a few minutes was his own heartbeat. But then...something else started to catch his attention. Thin, barely audible whispers floated through the air, teasing him, tempting him...

"..._Is this really Tom Riddle's mate? He looks so young..."_

_"...wonder what we will have for dinner. I hope we get to eat that stupid woman we caught last week..."_

_"...I hate this room..."_

_"Can you hear me, boy?"_

Harry flinched but didn't open his eyes. There it was! He found it. He smirked and followed the whisper. Everything was dark, but all of a sudden, there was a river of images and thoughts and sounds invading Harry's mind, making it almost difficult for him to stay standing. He saw flowers, stars...a moon... there was a woman, and a child, and a blue dress...and there was lots of blood.

"_Charlotte, my cousin..."_ The voice suddenly said and gave a snigger that echoed strangely in Harry's ears. "_I'm sorry you had to find out this way..."_ Someone screamed and then there was an overwhelming taste of blood that almost made Harry moan. He tried to focus on the thought and even though the image was blurry, he could see a woman, staring up into the ceiling. Dead. Her throat was already torn. Harry tried to feel sad for the woman, but to his own horror, he almost found the image amusing. Then it hit him that since he was inside John's mind, his emotions probably affected Harry as well.

Harry had already had enough, so he turned away from the image, feeling a bit queasy, and opened his eyes. As soon as he came back he fell to his knees, breathing deeply and coughing. He noticed his fangs had grown long and he put a hand in front of his mouth, trying to cover them up. It felt as if he had just been stripped naked in front of his audience. So embarrassed. John sniggered behind him, and for some reason, Harry found it extremely annoying.

"How did you like that thought, Harry? That was my first kill. My cousin-"

"Charlotte", Harry finished for him and gave the older vampire an angry glare. He stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. Then he smiled sweetly once more and, before he knew what he was doing, he was already standing next to John, who stared at him with shock evident in his eyes. Harry didn't smirk at first, but soon he could feel how the corners of his mouth started to quiver. He grinned crookedly at John, only to show his sharp teeth.

"Do not forget who I am", Harry purred and glanced towards Tom, who was smirking by the wall. "Do not forget whom I belong to."

Harry shocked himself and would probably have gasped and apologized to John, if he wasn't already so annoyed with the other man. John always acted so superior, even though he was a mere vampire. Harry was a vampira magika for crying out loud. It was the same feeling you get when a child is being rude to you, despite the difference in age and status. Harry growled quietly as he turned away from the stunned John and stalked up to Tom, suddenly feeling somewhat exhausted. Tom gave him the same content smirk as he had given him after the first test. Tom turned to Trenton, who was giving Harry a look similar to John's.

"Well?" Tom asked and waited for Trenton to reply. The older vampire coughed and nodded.

"Congratulations. You passed the second test. The third test will be held tomorrow night. Until then - Toodles!" Trenton left the great hall and the group of vampires, John included, followed him faithfully. Harry sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Finally just one left", he groaned. "These tests are seriously killing me..." He massaged his shoulder. Tom sniggered and pushed off the wall.

"You're new. You'll get used to it."

Harry snorted and left the hall, waiting for Tom to follow him back to their room. When he heard Tom's steps behind him, he slowed down, so that they could walk next to each other. Tom caught up with him and they continued to walk in silence.

"You're very silent", Tom said, stating the obvious. Harry nodded.

"I'm thinking about how I acted in there. It was like I got angry with John solely because I'm a vampira magika, while he's nothing but an ordinary vampire. You know? He annoyed the hell outta me. Isn't that weird? I feel like a spoiled brat."

Tom smirked.

"It's not weird. I told you your dark side would start to take over sooner or later."

Harry nodded, feeling content. He had passed the first two tests. Now there was only one more left. Piece a cake!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

(To Gemhull - There, I fixed it. I hope it's okay now.)

Yeah, so... Uh, I hope you liked it. I've been working like crazy to get this chapter finished before me and my beta go back to school. We both start the new semester on august 25. I become a senior in my high school, while my lovely beta is a college student.

Please review. Happy authors work faster.


	16. Chapter 15

I don't own Harry Potter.

I own the plot of this fic and all the characters that are not from the original Harry Potter books. (Like Nathanael, Trenton and John etc.)

Warnings - You already know this! Jeez.

A/N: Hey, now that I have your attention, I would like to recommend a fic that I'm working on at the moment. I haven't published it yet, but I'm really excited about it. For those of you who like the manga "Naruto", I'm working on an angst-filled romantic fic, about Naruto and Sasuke. And get this - It's based on a true story. A friend of mine asked me to write it for him, and it's all according to what's happened to him these last couple of years, when he fell in love with his best friend. Just letting you know. It's gonna be awesome. And since it's an AU-fic, you can probably read and enjoy it, even if you don't read the manga. Stay alert, ok? I'll name the fic "Half my heart".

Okay, here we go!

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When Harry Potter woke up, he quickly realized he was alone. He looked around, searching for Tom, but the older vampire was nowhere in sight. Yawning, Harry sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. His body was aching in a strange, pleasant way, and he remembered with a small smile what he and Tom had done before he'd gone to sleep. They had gone back to their room after the test, and Harry had barely even entered the room before Tom ripped his new clothes off and attached himself to Harry's neck, hungrily.

Harry blushed at the memory. Tom had seemed really starved. Maybe Harry had drank too much of his blood the previous night. In any case, the hours that followed had been extremely pleasurable. Still no penetration, even though Harry had healed up nicely, but pleasurable nonetheless.

With a sigh of content, Harry got out of the bed and scratched his head before starting to look for some clothes to wear. He noticed a new pile of clothes on the chair and a note on top of it. He picked it up and read it.

_'Here are some new clothes for you. I think I may have accidentally torn the ones I gave you yesterday."_- Harry sniggered at this - _"I will be back soon. You should rest as much as possible. Rest your mind as well. The last test is quite troublesome."_

Harry frowned and shook his head in confusion before starting to put his new clothes on. It wasn't as if he didn't already know how stressful the tests could be; he had already gone through two! But then there was that feeling that Harry got every time he looked at Tom lately. The feeling of shame, as if the older man was hiding something from Harry. As if he knew that Harry would be angry with him, if he found out. Hopefully, Harry thought, it was just his nerves playing a trick on him. After all, if Harry didn't pass the third and final test, he wouldn't be accepted into the house. What if he didn't? What about Tom?

Shaking his head and deciding that he wasn't in the mood for such anxious thoughts, Harry took a glance at himself in the mirror and smirked. Tom had given him a pair of tight, grey pants with black stripes. Over the pants, he wore a simple white, button-up shirt and a black vest. He was just about to leave the room when he stopped and snapped his fingers.

"A cloak. Cloak… cloak…" he murmured and started searching for a fitting cloak to wear, since Tom always insisted on him wearing one. After two minutes, he had only found a big, silver one that Harry simply refused to wear. So he left the room without it and went down the corridor, looking for Tom.

The corridor had big, old-fashioned windows that narrowed at the top, but despite their impressive size, they let through little light, since it was always night. Pale moonlight danced on the stone floor as Harry walked passed dozens of closed doors and large paintings of old vampires on the walls. It didn't matter. Harry didn't need light to see. It was a strange sensation at first, the way his eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was like a soft thumping in his temples, as his eyes worked a little harder than usual.

Harry stopped after twenty minutes and over a hundred closed doors later, and glanced out the window. The world of night was truly beautiful, intriguing, if nothing else. The moon was large, and pearl white, and the stars glimmered, scattering across the nearly black sky. Harry sighed and leaned against the cold glass. He had only been there for a few days, but he was already finding it hard to remember what the sun looked like. All he could remember was that it was warm.

Now where was Tom? It wasn't like him to leave Harry without saying anything before he left. Then again, Harry hadn't shared beds with Tom for very long. He sighed. It still annoyed Harry that Tom had woken up and left Harry sleeping and unknowing. At least he had left a note, but it only told him to keep on sleeping.

Harry jumped as he suddenly heard noises. He pushed away from the window and looked around. It sounded like rapid steps combined with angry voices. Harry's improved hearing helped him to locate the sounds and his eyes finally stuck to a dark green door a few meters away. Careful not to make any sounds of his own, Harry tip-toed to the door and put his ear to the wood.

"- But rules are rules!" A voice said angrily. Harry quickly recognized it as Trenton's. "You can't expect me to change them just because you are a vampire lord! Or the fact that you are a vampira magika!"

"If I remember correctly, Trenton, you've changed them once before!" Harry's mouth went dry as he realized that it was Tom who was arguing with Trenton. Tom's voice was bitingly cold, angry and lacked any trace of the respect that almost every other vampire usually showed Trenton. He heard Trenton snort.

"Don't be foolish! You know that I had no choice that time. And I certainly didn't do it for my own sake. You know that! Cecilé was a vampire princess by blood. It wasn't her fault that someone sealed the virus from her senses. I had to let her skip the tests, because it was her birthright to live in this house!"

"In that case, can't you let him take the final test later? Just two more weeks! He's not ready-"

"Tom!" Trenton interrupted Tom, who had almost started to sound desperate. Harry was staring into the darkness with unseeing eyes. What the hell was going on? "This isn't like you," Trenton continued after silencing Tom. "I understand that you're worried about Harry but I can't-"

"You don't understand anything", Tom sneered. "I have waited too long to lose him now. Do you understand that? Fifteen years I've waited for his virus to awaken, while he was happily living with those... _humans_!" Tom hissed. "Trenton... he grew up with humans. He still possesses human emotions. He's not ready for the final test."

"... I understand that", Trenton said with a softer voice. "But that's not reason enough. If you wish to make it easier on him, I could allow you to tell him what the test is. But I can't let him skip it."

"I can't tell him. Even if I did, it wouldn't help him. He doesn't work like that. It's better if he finds out then and there. That's the only way he can keep his strength", Tom muttered, obviously realizing that Trenton wouldn't budge, no matter how evil Tom acted. "But if Harry doesn't get permitted to live in this house because of the final test, I will never forgive you."

The conversation was obviously over. Harry quickly sunk into the shadows deep in the corner as he heard steps approach the door. Two seconds later, the door went up with a bang and Tom stormed out. Harry bit his lip not to call for him; Tom's aura still seemed in conflict, even though he had apparently calmed down. Harry didn't move or make a sound as he stared after his lover's swirling cloak. When the man finally went around the corner on the other side of the corridor, Harry took a step out and felt how the moonlight rested on his cheek.

What was the final test? Tom was usually not one to show emotions, not even to Harry, but for him to sound so desperate... Harry started to dread the oncoming test more and more. And why didn't Tom want to tell him? Harry remembered once again Tom's strange, guilty behavior. Was the test really that bad? Harry had already passed two of them. What could possibly be bad enough for Tom to, more or less, beg Trenton to postpone it? Didn't Tom think Harry was strong enough?

Harry realized that he had already walked through the corridor and was currently only a few meters away from his and Tom's room. He stared at the door, emotionlessly, calmly. He didn't want to go in. Tom was probably there, and Harry didn't want to see that worried, ashamed frown of his. He didn't want to lose himself in the deep eyes and gorgeous hair. Harry just wanted to be left alone for a while. So he placed his forehead on the cold surface of the window and stared at the forest that surrounded the castle. Everything was so dark and quiet. Harry's breath made white clouds on the glass.

"I've been looking for you." Harry froze as a pair of big arms embraced him from behind and Harry shuddered a little as Tom's breath hit the skin of his neck. "You're not wearing a cloak."

"Didn't think I had to when no one's around", Harry said and glared at Tom's reflection. "Besides, silver isn't really my colour."

Tom sighed at this and Harry could feel the breath dance over his neck.

"Fine... But make sure it doesn't happen again. What are you doing out here anyway?" Tom asked.

"... Looking", Harry replied, still refusing to show emotions. If Tom wanted to keep secrets, Harry sure as hell was going to be secretive as well.

"Oh. What are you looking at?" Tom asked and leaned his chin on Harry's shoulder. Harry couldn't help but to blush.

"What is there to look at other than the forest?" He said, and gave a small snort of amusement.

"And that is why I find it rather odd that you're looking", Tom replied smartly. "You should spend your time doing something more... productive. In fact, I have a suggestion."

"I-" Harry sighed when Tom's lips ghosted over his skin, making the teen lean into the embrace by pure reflex. "I'm sure you do."

"Then let's go back to our room", Tom said and put his hands on Harry's hips, massaging lightly. When Harry didn't move, Tom put his lips to the boy's neck again. "Or if you prefer, we could do it right here."

Harry didn't have any time to reply. Tom's hands were already on his crotch, rubbing and caressing, making Harry go weak in the knees. Harry gasped and put his hands against the cold window when Tom started licking and sucking his shoulder. The hands on his crotch kept kneading and finally made their way inside Harry's pants.

"A-ah!" Harry bit his lip and put his forehead against the window. Anger filled him, unexpectedly. Why did the touches always feel so good? _Why_ did Tom have such power over him? He couldn't even tell Harry about the final test! He was obviously so damn worried, why wouldn't he even give Harry a hint? What the hell was that? "Tom..."

"M-hm?" Tom's answer was mumbled since his lips were busy with kissing the nape of Harry's neck.

"Who's Cecilé?"

Tom froze in his movements and Harry stared at his reflection in the glass. The man stared back, and Harry's heart started beating in a more painful way when Tom pulled his hands away, leaving warm spots on Harry. The spots quickly cooled, as Tom's response was still left to be heard.

"Where did you hear that name?" He asked, anger obviously laced in his voice. He didn't reply, but lowered his gaze. "You overheard us?"

"... Yeah."

"How much did you hear?" Harry swallowed and shut his eyes.

"Just a little bit. I only heard Trenton say something about rules, and that he couldn't change them for you and so on. Then you said something about Cecilé, and about the final... test..."

Tom didn't say anything and Harry didn't want to look at him. He felt like a child who had just caught his parent doing something bad.

"Won't you tell me what the final test is?" Harry asked and opened his eyes, watching Tom as the man stared at the floor. "Please?"

"No." A pang of anger went through Harry who clenched his jaw and swallowed harder.

"Why? Is it because you think I'm not strong enough? Is that it?"

"That's not it!" Tom said and scowled at Harry who turned around in Tom's slack embrace.

"Then why?"

Tom stared at him with an odd expression. Something that resembled pain and fear caught Harry's attention, and the younger put his hands on Tom's cheeks.

"Are you that worried about me?"

"Don't ask stupid questions!" Tom snapped and his face softened, even though it was still cold and emotionless. "Of course I'm worried."

Another ten seconds went by without either of them speaking. Harry realized angrily that Tom wouldn't tell him, no matter how much he begged. He turned away from Tom, then felt how Tom's body was slipping away, but Harry grabbed the hands still resting on his hips. He pulled Tom back and wrapped the large arms around his shoulders. It didn't matter how upset he was - Tom was still an addiction.

"So who is Cecilé?" He asked again and leaned against the warmth of Tom, who didn't reply right away. Finally, the older of the two sighed against Harry's hair and put his forehead against the back of Harry's head.

"She was born in one of the royal vampire families. A vampire princess who, due to a large demon war two hundred years ago, was forced to live as a human for her protection. Her parents sealed away her memories and put a spell over her. She would live as a human until the day she turned sixteen. Then her memories would return and she would know, herself, how to break the spell and return to her parents. However, a priest found out about her and sealed her vampire abilities away for good. Her memories returned, but since she had been robbed of her powers, she couldn't return on her own.

"Her parents had started to get worried when she didn't return, so they sent out vampires to search for her. When they finally found her, she was eighteen and still mortal, even though she remembered perfectly well that she had lived as a vampire the first eleven years of her life. Normally, when a vampire is accepted into the vampire society, they have to endure several tests, just like the ones you're taking. But since she didn't have her powers anymore, she would fail. Since she was royal, she was allowed to live in her parents' house anyway, without having to do the tests."

"Where is she now?" Harry asked and twisted his head to look at Tom, all previous anger almost forgotten. Tom sighed and stared at the dark world below them.

"Since she didn't possess vampire powers anymore, she was mortal, and died a natural death when she was eighty-one years old. Of course, that was before my time, so I never met her. They say her father died, but I'm not sure if that's true. Her mother still lives though, and so does her younger brother."

"Her younger brother?"

"Yes", Tom said and Harry blinked with confusion as he saw the annoyed frown. "Nathanael."

Harry blinked and felt how his mouth opened in shock.

"Nathanael is royal? Oh, right... Dracula's son... Wow. That is totally awesome."

"'Awesome', huh? Well, if he wasn't such an arrogant brat..." Tom muttered. "He's older than me, but he still acts like he's closer to _your_ age."

Harry sniggered and brought a hand up to caress Tom's neck.

"That's because he's realized that it's so much more fun to be a teenager than some old geezer!"

Tom sniggered at that.

"Is that so?" He said and brought his hands to Harry's crotch once more, making the boy flinch and blush. "Seems this old geezer still manages to turn teenagers on, doesn't he?"

"Shut up..."

Something that resembled a snogging session followed, and when Harry was flustered and his lips were swollen and aching from their violent kissing, Tom pulled away.

"You should sleep."

"I've been sleeping all day", Harry protested, but yawned, as the fatigue made a move in his body. Tom smirked.

"You haven't got as much sleep as you think. After all, you were up all night."

"And whose fault is that?" Harry asked, but didn't protest further when Tom grasped his hand and led him to their room. He decided to give one last try and glanced at Tom. "You still won't tell me about the test?"

"No."

Harry sighed and shook his head a little while removing his clothes. Damn cocky vampire lord. The lump of nervousness was still present in the pit of Harry's stomach. It had started to ache.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_"Oooh, Harry Potter! Save me from the wicked priest! That is your final test!" A young lady in a pink dress shouted from the tower. Harry stared up at her._

_"Cecilé? How the... I mean, how the fuck am I supposed to get up there?" He asked and ignored the 'wicked' priest who was bouncing around in the background, snickering insanely. Cecilé sighed and before Harry knew it, a ladder was thrown at him. Harry stared up at her. _

_"If you have a ladder, can't you just escape on your own?"_

_Cecilé stopped moving and stared at him with a blank, confused expression. Then she smacked her forehead. _

_"Oh Merlin! You're right! I wonder why I never thought of it myself!" She started climbing down and Harry waited patiently for her, but suddenly she slipped and fell heedlessly. _

_"Harry! Oh noooo! Harry, save me! Harry! Harryyyy...!!"_

"...arry! Harry, wake up."

Harry flinched and snapped his eyes open. Tom stared at him with an amused, semi-annoyed expression. It had been a dream. Thank god. Harry sat up and rubbed his forehead. It was cold and clammy.

"It's time. Get ready", said Tom and got up from the side of the bed where he had been sitting. "I got you some new clothes. Hurry up."

Harry didn't move. Was it already time? A cold, sickening feeling of nervousness started making itself known in Harry's chest and when he finally made a move to get away from his twisted sheets, he could feel that his hands were shaking. He didn't even know what the damn test was about, but with Tom acting like he had, who could blame him for feeling nervous?

His hands were still shaking when Harry pulled on his new, black leather pants and the white button-up. He buttoned the shirt wrong several times, and it wasn't until Tom suddenly grasped his hands firmly in his own that Harry stilled and realize he had been holding his breath. Slowly and carefully, Tom started buttoning Harry's shirt, caressing Harry's chest with almost comforting touches in the process. Harry's eyes left the floor and stuck to Tom's stiff face. The older man was frowning slightly, as if he was in deep and dreadful thoughts.

"... Tom?"

Tom's eyes met his own and the frown eased a little. Harry kept staring at his lover until he bent down to capture Harry's lips. Harry closed his eyes and melted. The kiss was tender, soft and very careful, as if Tom was afraid Harry might break down before his eyes. When they parted, Tom pulled Harry closer and let his young partner bury his face against his neck. While Harry pressed his body against Tom for any kind of comfort, Tom put a black, silky cloak on Harry and when he was done, his slim fingers carressed Harry's hair carefully.

"Will I be okay?" Harry whispered and listened to Tom's heartbeat. It was faster than usual. Tom was nervous, too. He didn't reply at first, but then he brought a hand to the back of Harry's head and stroked the ruffled hair.

"You are strong. You will be fine. But you have to remember... whatever you'll be forced to endure, you must keep your strength. Stay focused. You will hate it, but sooner or later, you have to accept who you are."

Tom let go of Harry's neck and leaned back a little to be able to meet Harry's worried face.

"You are my partner. My lover. That is who you are. Do not forget that."

"I don't hate those facts", Harry said quietly and smiled a little. "I will endure anything."

They kissed again and left the room in a tense but strangely comfortable silence. Harry's legs were weak with anticipation and dread, and he could feel how his head started hurting. When they finally reached the great hall, after what seemed like hours, everyone was already there. Trenton gave Tom a curt nod and turned to Harry, who flinched. The elderly vampire gave Harry a pat on the shoulder and an encouraging smile.

"Listen, you have to stay focused no matter what. I'm not just saying it for your own sake - Tom will probably kill me if you don't pass this final test." With a last smile, Trenton removed his hand from Harry's shoulder and turned to speak to the vampires that had gathered to witness the test. There were a least fifty of them leaning against the walls, while some of them were sitting down. Harry's eyes wandered to the center of the floor. His eyes widened a little. There was something under a white blanket. Something that moved.

"Welcome, members of this house!" Trenton exclaimed and placed a welcoming smile on his face for his underlings. "Today, we are going to witness Harry Potter's final test. You are forbidden from speaking to Harry until afterwards. You are forbidden from disturbing his concentration. You are forbidden from mocking him during the test. Basically, the only thing you're allowed to do while you're in here, is to stand where you are currently standing, and watch in silence! Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Trenton!" The vampires chanted. Harry kept staring at the moving blanket and a new wave of sickening dread washed over him. Were they going to force him to fight some monster? Was it a demon? Or some crazy cannibal-vampire? Harry realized that no matter what he thought it was, he would soon find out anyway, since John was already on his way towards the flinching blanket.

Harry stared nervously as John gripped the blanket and started to pull.

His heart stopped. His eyes widened further and a cold sweat broke out before Harry took a horrified step back, bumping into the strong chest of Tom.

Under the blanket was a girl, probably no older than fourteen. She was wearing a torn white dress. No shoes. Her hands were tied and so were her feet. She also had a cloth tied over her mouth, to prevent from speaking. Her black hair was tussled, and her sweaty face was terrified. Her big, scared eyes stared straight at Harry, who started feeling sick enough to throw up. He finally realized what it was that they wanted him to do.

Make his first kill. Drink blood from another human being, for the first time.

"No..." Harry whispered and tried to back away further, but Tom prevented him from doing do. "Let me out..." He whispered furiously as his face drained from all blood. "I don't... I can't!"

"Harry, listen to me!" Tom said firmly but quietly in his ear. "I know it's difficult to accept, but sooner or later... You're going to have to kill. No matter how much you try to run away from it. This is what being a vampire means. We drink blood from people. You knew that."

Yes, he had known about it, deep down. But he hadn't given it a thought. Not once had Harry Potter actually thought about the fact that he would have to kill a human being.

Trenton gave Harry a pitying look and glanced at the girl on the floor.

"This is the only way", Tom whispered and kissed Harry's cheek, Harry's neck, Harry's shoulder. "If not for yourself, do it for me. I have waited too long... I cannot lose you now."

Harry shuddered as sadness, desperation and rage burned and stormed within him. Tom had known about this, but hadn't told him... Why? Tom drank Harry's blood just a few hours ago, knowing that it would make Harry hungrier, hadn't he? He knew that it would be harder to resist after that.

Oh, and it was hard. Even from where Harry stood, he could hear the girl's drumming heart, spreading the sweet, delicious blood throughout her body with each _'ta-thump'. _

Tom's hands were still on his shoulders, and Harry could feel how they were shaking. Somehow, even though he was furious with his older lover, it made him feel warm. Loved. Tom wanted Harry to pass the test no matter what. Tom had been acting weird, because he was so worried that Harry wouldn't be able to pass the final test. He wanted Harry to be with him. And Harry wanted to be with him.

On stiff legs, Harry started walking towards the girl, who immediately shuffled away from him, foolishly trying to escape. It was obvious that she would die sooner or later, whether Harry fed from her or not. She started to whimper, and sob, and the tears soaked her sweaty cheeks, and the cloth over her mouth. As Harry got even closer, feeling like he wasn't even in control of his own body, he could feel his fangs growing sharp and long, and the girl started shaking her head, pleading for her life. Desperately. And Harry thought, maybe she has a family out there... Brothers and sisters... A mother and a father… A lover, perhaps.

All that was going to end now, and Harry felt as if his heart had frozen to ice as he lowered himself next to the flinching, quivering girl. Solely for Tom's sake, Harry told himself, even though his body tried to tell him otherwise - his stomach was growling with hunger. The aching sadness still made him want to throw up, as he thought of what he was about to do, but he was so hungry! So thirsty!

So when he finally lowered himself over the girl, gripping her shoulder, ignoring the weak punches she gave his chest, he gave her a sorrow-filled smile.

"I'm so sorry", he whispered and bent down to put his mouth to her neck.

The blood was delicious. So thick, so rich... Harry almost got high on it. His hands gripped tighter and he gave a quiet growl of want, as the blood filled his body with warmth and contentment. He wanted more. More. The girl's heartbeat was slowing down, but Harry barely noticed that her life was fading. He drank, and sucked and savored every drop of the crimson fluid. When he had finally drained her, he licked the wound for a few seconds, before he let go and watched the body fall to the floor. She was dead.

He had killed her.

"Harry Potter has passed the final test!" Trenton yelled, and the vampires in the room cheered and clapped their hands.

The rush of energy and life within his body was overwhelming, delicious, sweet. It was as if all the girl's knowledge and thoughts had been passed over to him, along with her life. And despite all this maddening _pleasure_, Harry wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. He wanted to throw up.

He had finally taken the last step of no return. He had given up the last human part of himself. He was now officially, a monster.

tbc.

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So, what do you think? Please review, and tell me. Ne?


	17. Chapter 16

I don't own Harry Potter.

I own the plot of this fic and if you steal/copy the content of this chapter, it's against the law and your account will get erased if you get caught. Which you will be. I've faithful fans, see. (evil snigger)

God, I am SO sorry for the looong wait! I guess you're used to it by now, eh? As usual, school is killing me, and my flute teacher wanted me to go with him to like a flute-camp or whatever, and now our teachers tell us that it's time to start thinking about college and university and my sister turned seventeen a few weeks ago... So yeah. Oh, and my laptop totally broke down a few weeks ago... Virus and shit. I've been really busy. And don't forget - this aint my only fic. I'm working on two others as well. I'm always late. I thank all of you who stay faithful to me, despite me being a stressed out airhead.

**Chapter 16**.

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Harry woke up with a gasp, sat up and struggled to get out of the bed, which proved to be more difficult than expected - his sweaty body was twisted in the sheets and they clung to Harry's warm body like restraints. Before Harry had time to panic, he fell out of the bed with a pained 'oof'!

"Ow..." He whined to himself and rubbed his head.

"Another nightmare?" Tom said, somewhat sleepily, and looked over to where Harry sat from his own side of the bed. With a yawn, Tom sat up and inched over to Harry's side to give his young lover a hand. Harry took it with an annoyed expression and heaved himself up from the floor.

"I don't want to talk about it..."

"You don't have to talk," Tom said and put his arm around Harry as the boy lay down next to him again. "You just have to sleep. You'll get sick if you don't sleep."

"I thought vampires were immune to sickness?"

"Right... well, think of it as a figure of speech." The older man was tired - Harry could hear the fatigue in his voice. Great. As if he needed to feel even worse than he already did. Harry turned around in Tom's embrace and snuggled closer to Tom's chest, not really sure if he did it to make Tom content, or if Harry himself needed the comfort - the sense of safeness.

He was really trying his best when they were both awake. He was trying so hard not to seem too stressed out about the whole ordeal. Seriously, Harry should've seen it coming. Vampires fed from humans. Everybody knew that. But ever since his affair with Tom started a few months ago, back at Hogwarts, Harry had been too engulfed by the thought of Voldemort. The sense of not belonging. Thoughts of sex. Not once had the idea occurred to him that he might actually have to bite someone.

Harry felt stupid for not even having thought about it. That's why he tried to seem normal, happy, content. Proud, perhaps. He didn't know if it was working or not. He wasn't sure whether or not Tom was aware of the fact that Harry was close to tears every time they went to bed. He didn't know whether or not someone actually knew that Harry Potter had the urge to throw up each time he thought about what he had done. It wasn't just an urge - Harry had shoved his fingers down his throat just two hours after killing the girl.

And as the tears stained his cheeks, crimson fluids poured out from his gut, through his mouth, down on the ground just outside the castle. Harry remembered it well. How disgusted he was with himself, and how the disgusted feeling increased when he realized that the fluids he forced up from his stomach still tasted like blood - tasted good.

Harry buried his nose into Tom's skin and shut his eyes tightly to calm himself. He could feel how he shuddered a little. Hopefully Tom hadn't noticed. Maybe he was asleep.

"Are you cold?"

Shoot. Apparently not asleep.

"N-no... well, yes."

Harry smiled a little when he could feel the vibrations of Tom's chest when the man laughed. Even though Harry felt like crap, Tom still managed to create small sparks of happiness that lasted for a pretty long time. Sometimes several seconds. Ah, salvation. Had it not been for Tom, Harry might've tried to commit suicide by now. Then again, had it not been for Tom, Harry wouldn't even be a vampire in the first place.

"So how is it then? Would you like me to get you another blanket?"

"Nah..."

A few minutes passed by in silence. Neither of them was asleep. Harry could feel how Tom's presence was too strong for him to be asleep. And Harry... Harry was simply not tired. He was completely exhausted, but he wasn't sleepy. He couldn't sleep, even if he tried. And when he actually managed to fall asleep, he'd wake up just as fast due to the horrific and very vivid nightmares he suffered.

"Harry," Tom spoke suddenly and Harry flinched but tried to relax as the older man's arms tightened around him. "Don't think about it. Try to forget all about it."

Harry didn't answer at first, but curled up closer to Tom. What was he doing? Begging for silent comfort? It didn't work like that, Harry knew that.

"I can't," he finally whispered and he heard how apathetic he sounded. "I see her... all the time. And all her thoughts and memories were burned into my brain and I can't-"

"Shh..." Tom hushed and Harry shuddered as Tom's cool hand travelled down his side and over his backside.

"She was getting married, Tom," Harry whispered miserably. "In January... And she had a baby sister named Jill who was just learning how to walk..." He wasn't crying, although the sorrow and guilt tore at his heart. "I'm a monster."

"Monster? No. You are a vampire. Drinking the blood of humans is what we do to survive. That doesn't make us monsters. We're superior, Harry. Humans slaughter animals every day, all over the world. Does that make them monsters?"

"I suppose not... But humans are different from animals, Tom. There's a difference between a human and a... cow."

"What's the difference? The appearance? The different levels of intellect?" Tom sighed. "If that's the case, humans are cows compared to us. We're a complex species, Harry."

"But... I used to be one of them."

Harry sat up again and leaned his elbows against his knees, as he brought them to his chest. Tom didn't speak or move. Harry turned to look at his lover, who was staring back sternly.

"I can't help it," Harry whispered and rubbed his face with angry hands. "I feel like a beast..."

He got up out of bed and covered his pale body in a robe. "I'm going for a walk," he said and gave Tom a sad smile. "I'll be back soon." Tom didn't reply, and Harry was relieved that he hadn't asked to come along. Harry didn't want company, not even from the person he adored more than anyone.

If only Tom hadn't been a vampire. Then they could've been happily living their lives as ordinary wizards. Well... No. That wouldn't work either. Tom wasn't 'Tom' to everyone else. He was the Dark Lord Voldemort. Harry would probably have to experience death and darkness even if they weren't vampires. There was no escaping the evil, was there? Everywhere he turned now, there was nothing but darkness. The same darkness that had once attracted him enough to get a hard-on. And in more than one way, the darker side of life was indeed beautiful. Exciting. But ugly beneath the surface.

Harry's hand traveled lightly over the stone wall as he walked down the corridor. His eyes were staring but not really seeing the carpet-covered floor.

He knew that he would eventually learn to accept it, to control his emotions... Maybe even come to _love_ this unavoidable blood shed. But right now, he couldn't see it. The beauty. Was it really necessary to kill humans? Why couldn't they just drink the blood of... wolves or bears? Nobody likes them anyway, right?

_Humans are cows compared to us..._

That wasn't true. Tom made sense, but it still wasn't correct. Humans had minds, they had souls! Unlike cows or other animals, they could feel joy, fear, anger... Love.

If anything, compared to vampires, humans were like cute little bunnies. Or lambs. You can't help but feeling guilty after harming (killing) one of them, even if you're superior and killed the lamb so that you could eat it and survive. The meat doesn't taste good if you eat it knowing what it used to be.

Harry snorted with amusement and stopped in his tracks to glance out the window over the world of the never-ending night. He had never been thinking these kinds of thoughts before. He hadn't been a vegetarian back in his days as human. He never thought about what he was eating - only that it tasted delicious.

Maybe he should try and think of the humans as nothing but kettle? After all, killing humans wasn't exactly something that they did every day, Harry had noticed. Since the last test, Harry hadn't had to drink the blood of a human once. Neither had the other vampires. Maybe human blood was like a rare treat that they only ate once or twice a month? Maybe they didn't even have to kill the poor human to get the blood? Maybe there were humans who volunteered? Harry hoped that that was the case.

In some ways, Harry couldn't wait for his darker self to take over, so that Harry wouldn't have to think about it all the fucking time. Maybe then he'd actually appreciate his new liking for crimson fluids that tasted of iron and salt. And Harry did love the flavor.

"I'll let you in on a secret," someone said and Harry spun around, startled. Nathanael smirked at him before walking up to him and taking a seat on the window ledge.

"A secret?" Harry asked and pulled his robes closer around him, as Nathanael's eyes wandered over him.

"I'm not trying to be all wise and understanding, but I understand how awful you must be feeling." The young vampire prince glanced out the window as Harry stared at him.

"You do?"

Nathanael gave a short laugh.

"Not really... I was never a human. I was born into this," he said and flashed a grin where the sharp fangs were exposed. "But you used to be one of them... were you not? I bet you're feeling like some traitor now, huh?"

Harry didn't reply but grit his teeth. Bull's-eye. Damnit, why were vampires so good at reading him?

"First of all, try to grasp this concept; you're not a human anymore. You're a vampire, and quite a noble one at that. Enjoy it. Humans aren't as innocent as you seem to believe. They cheat, they lie, they hurt each other. I know about the darkness in your heart, but you seem to have forgotten all about it. You should be enjoying this, but I guess you're still a bit too young."

"You're right - you're not very wise at all," Harry muttered and made a move to leave, but Nathanael had somehow managed to move in front of Harry in less than a second, and Harry mentally sighed with annoyance.

"Don't be cheeky," Nathanael said. "That wasn't all of it. I never had to experience the feeling of guilt for eating human beings, but I do know sorrow. A friend of mine, Alphonse Greiger, was human before he turned into a vampire. You know what he had to do during his last test?"

Harry shook his head and watched as Nathanael's features went from arrogant and self-confident, to composed and angry.

"He had to kill his little brother."

Shock filled Harry, and he didn't know what to say. Nathanael gave a smile of anger and sadness.

"I remembered how he begged and pleaded for his brother's life, but Trenton wouldn't budge. Al's 'darker side', as we call it, hadn't kicked in yet. I've never seen anyone cry so hard in my entire life, and I've lived for over two hundred years. The little boy couldn't have been older than ten human years. And he kept telling Alphonse that it was okay and that he knew that Alphonse wouldn't be happy if he kept living as a human. That kid was way too wise for his age. Humans are scary that way."

"Is this supposed to calm me?" Harry whispered. Nathanael sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I guess not, but about the little secret I wanted to share with you - I've lived as a vampire my entire life but I've only killed three humans so far. The first one was because I had to do the tests as well, even though I'm royalty. Pretty unnecessary if you ask me - I don't feel sympathy for humans since I don't understand them. The second was because he was trying to kill me and the third, whom I killed eight years ago, I killed because I was lost in the streets of London, and I was starving. He was a badass criminal, by the way. I figured no one would miss him."

Harry gave a quick smile at the arrogant prince.

"You're strangely kind for someone who happens to be the son of Dracula."

Nathanael made a face.

"Not really. Ever since I was little, my father taught me to respect the humans, even though they mean fairly little to us. That's the one and only reason."

"I'm sure."

"Look, what I'm trying to say, is that you don't have to feel obliged to love it. At least not yet. I mean, you've been a vampire for barely three weeks. And if you really hate it, you won't have to kill humans. Especially with your status. You're practically royalty, being a _vampira magika_ and all that. Tom has the status of a duke in this house, and so do you. You can choose to eat whatever you want. Drink the blood of pigs if that suits you better."

Harry frowned at Nathanael who was quickly turning back to his old smug self. The prince pushed away from the wall and turned around to walk away.

"Oh, and another thing," Nathanael turned his head to face Harry and gave the younger vampire a semi-soft smile. "Tom is trying very hard to make you feel comfortable. Don't forget that. Let him comfort you when you're weak. I assure you, no one loves you as much as he does."

The next second, Nathanael had vanished and left a gaping Harry behind. The words caused a sudden urge to see his older lover and Harry immediately turned on his heels and ran back to their room, feeling strangely relieved. Even though Nathanael's 'pep-talk' wasn't exactly as comforting as it probably was meant to be, Harry felt almost happy.

Harry was a vampire now. Instead of complaining, he'd simply have to make the best of it. And, as Nathanael explained, Harry didn't have to kill another human being for as long as he lived. Humans killed other humans, too. And for no proper reason. At least vampires had a reason to kill. A small smile made its way to Harry's face. He'd manage. He'd learn to accept his new life-style. His dark side would kick in eventually, but it wouldn't eat him up. It'd simply help him see things differently.

This was what Harry was now. And he would come to love it. Harry was sure of it.

"Tom?" Harry whispered as he approached the bed where Tom was sleeping. Or not sleeping. Tom stared at him as Harry tip-toed to the bed and climbed into it. Without words, Harry crawled under the blanket and placed himself against Tom's luke-warm skin and delightful scent. He took a deep breath and as he released it, he could feel a new sense of calm overcome him. He buried his head under Tom's chin and kissed the skin there.

"Feeling better?" Tom whispered, sounding a little surprised. Harry nodded against him.

"Yeah. Sorry for my childish reaction. I should've known what was coming..."

"Maybe..." Tom agreed and put his arm around Harry's slimmer body. "But almost everyone has that kind of reaction. At least the ones who used to be human."

"Did you feel like this?" Harry whispered. Tom sighed against his hair.

"If you're wondering whether or not I felt like a horrible monster who didn't deserve to live, then no. I wasn't very fond of the human race, even back when I was still one of them. But the test was hard on me, too. I learned to adjust. And these days, I never think of it as something awful that they forced me to do. It was simply the best way for me to see things in black and white. Vampires drink blood. That's the way it is."

"... Yes." Harry smiled a little. "I know you were trying to let me skip the final test. I heard you talking to Trenton."

Tom didn't say anything, but Harry could feel how the slim fingers lightly brushed his back. Harry turned his head a little to get a better view of Tom, who wasn't looking at him, but at the ceiling. Harry kissed the sharp jaw-line.

"Thank you." Tom still didn't reply, but the hand started to travel south. Harry shuddered and didn't do anything to stop it. It felt good. Having his body adored...

"Ha-ah!" Harry squirmed against the muscular body as the hand massaged his buttocks and slipped inside the black boxers that Harry wore. Harry's face burned and he could feel his pulse starting to pick up speed. It struck him that he and Tom hadn't done anything, anything at all, since the day before the final test. Which was two weeks ago. Harry had been too stressed out and depressed, and Tom had probably sensed it.

"You've starved me for far too long," Tom said darkly and pulled Harry closer, making their crotches clash. Harry gasped and bucked his hips without thinking. His trembling hands went up to grasp at Tom's chest. God, this was good. Harry spread his legs a little, as Tom pulled his underwear off.

"Then...are you going to punish me?" Harry whispered and added a playful smirk. Tom smirked back.

"Oh, yes."

Harry moaned as Tom, who was already nude, turned them around, so that Harry's back was pressed into the mattress, with Tom hovering above, giving him a passionate, sensual glare. He grabbed Harry's knees and spread the legs further apart. Then he started thrusting against Harry slowly, teasing the boy, only to see his reactions. Harry bit his lip as he felt his straining erection press against Tom's flat stomach.

"Tom... You're... Ah!"

Tom snickered darkly, turning Harry on even more. He shut his eyes, as Tom sped his thrusts up.

"Apparently, your body has missed this as much as I have. Already whimpering and... begging," Tom whispered and nibbled at Harry's earlobe. The boy beneath him started to pant in his excitement. He loved it when Tom acted this way. This semi-cruel, dominant way...leaving Harry breathless, teasing him... It was delicious. Everything around them was so quiet, and yet Harry was about to go deaf from his heartbeats thumping loudly in his ear, his own moans and their heavy breathing, all mixing together.

"Fuck me," Harry panted and spread his legs wider. "Tom...put it inside..."

"Eager tonight... You want to have my cock inside?"

Harry nodded and moaned when Tom's hair fell around them and tickled his chest and shoulders.

"You're so slutty, Harry... Like a whore..." Tom sniggered and reached in between them to tease the quivering hole of Harry, who gasped at this and gave Tom a desire-filled look. When a finger slipped inside, Harry's back arched and the hips immediately pushed down to take in more than just the fingertip. Tom smirked and leaned closer to Harry to nip at the teenager's nipples.

"N-not just the... ah... Hah! Tom... Not just a finger...!"

"Then how about two?"

Harry knew he sounded like a whore, but he couldn't stop the flow of pleasured moans as Tom inserted a second finger and stretched him. It hurt a little, but in a most delicious way. Tom could see the pleasure written on Harry's entire body, from the blushing face, to the arching back, to the trembling, slim legs. Harry was starting to drip, as excited as he was, and his hand tried to grab himself, but Tom slapped it away. Harry whined.

"I want you... to..."

"You want me to fuck you?"

"Yeah," Harry moaned, and felt the shame mix with the pleasure as his hips started thrusting against Tom's fingers. Tom gave a dark leer and leaned in to Harry's face where he gave the lips a soft kiss. It would've been sweet, if Tom had not at the same time added a third finger, making the boy quiver in pleasure.

"Such a good boy," Tom sniggered and Harry started to feel annoyed. He glared at Tom, but his angry look was quickly replaced by one of utter pleasure. His mouth fell open as his head was thrown back. Tom thrust inside of him, slowly, painfully, sweetly, until he was fully hidden inside of Harry.

"Aren't you going to say 'thank you'?" Tom asked and started thrusting slowly. Harry, who was still shaking from the shock and the pleasure, eagerly nodded and craned his neck, offering himself to Tom for the second time. Tom licked the fine skin, as his thrusts picked up speed. Harry's body was blushing, hot... Tom hadn't even hit that special spot yet, and still it felt so incredibly good, Harry could barely even form words.

It wasn't until Tom's strong hands grabbed Harry's hips and started fucking him for real that Harry started thrusting back, and as the spot was finally hit, Harry almost screamed out.

"There! Oh, fuck... Again! Don't stop!"

Tom flipped them around, and suddenly Harry was the one sitting on the older man's stomach, again. Harry, now knowing what to do, started riding the man in a fast rhythm. Tom's hands were still holding onto Harry's hips, steadying the younger vampire as said boy placed his hands on Tom's chest for support.

"Touch me!" Harry panted, and hissed when Tom's hand grabbed his member and started pumping. "Shit! No, wait... Stop it... You're gonna make me cum too fast!"

"I'll make you cum twice," was Tom's reply and Harry opened his eyes to stare at him. His hips weren't obeying him anymore, and kept thrusting desperately against Tom, thirsty for more pleasure, and the hand on Harry's swollen member kept massaging, pumping him, hard and fast. And Harry was starting to see white.

"Tom! Fa--ster... Ah... I'm...! I'm going to...!"

"Cum."

Harry let out a yell as he was milked, and his hips were getting erratic, thrusting and grinding against Tom as hard as he could, before slowing down. Tom turned them over again and licked his fingers before turning to look at Harry, who was still panting heavily. He smirked at him and started thrusting into Harry again. Harry gasped and gave a semi-pained look.

"Tom... It won't work... I-" He abruptly stopped speaking, as Tom's teeth suddenly sunk into his neck. Adrenaline made Harry feel dizzy, and he could feel how Tom sucked the blood out and swallowed it. And he grew hard again. The thrusts Tom gave suddenly stopped hurting, and Harry's legs spread wider on their own accord. "... _Harder_!"

A few minutes of moaning, wild thrusting and general dizziness followed. Harry clawed at Tom's back, gripped his long hair and pulled him closer, more or less forcing Tom to drink more of his blood. Soon, Tom's thrusts got irregular, erratic and when the man released Harry's sore neck to put his hands on each side of Harry's head to support his body-weight as he gave those last, powerful thrusts, Tom looked absolutely gorgeous. Harry noticed, in his foggy, dazed state of mind, that when the sweat dribbled down Tom's face, and when the muscles and veins were bulging out, he looked perfect.

And then there was heat and wetness and Harry came all over himself, for the second time that night. His hips gave a few willing but tired thrusts against Tom, even after the orgasm had ended. And that's when Tom leaned in, to lick at Harry's wound, and to embrace Harry a bit harder than before, and to kiss his neck and his jaw, and his lips. They were tired, spent, satisfied. The kisses were sloppy but sweeter than wine. Tom was still inside, and Harry didn't mind.

When the daze had left them, Tom slipped out, carefully, and placed himself next to Harry, who hissed a little as he brought his legs back together. Nude and sweaty as they were, they slept. Tom with his arm thrown over Harry's side, and Harry crawled up against the man. They had made a mess. Not that they cared about the stains on their sheets, or the pillows they had pushed off of the bed. They could deal with that tomorrow.

Harry didn't have any more nightmares.

tbc.

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**Sorry for the wait.** I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :) Harry has finally started accepting his nature. The next chapter will be less angsty. His darker side will start to activate, and there will also be some Blaise-Draco-plot. I haven't forgot about them.

I realize this chapter was a strange mix of dark angst and fuzzy romance. The thing is, I always listen to music when I write. The main part of this chapter, including the first parts of the lemon, was written while I was listening to **Korn** and **Marilyn Manson**, and the last parts were written while I was listening to "**Broken Wings, Trinity Blood." **Beautiful piano-song. You should check them out on youtube or something. I'm happy with the way this chapter came out anyway. Tom is still acting a bit too sweet, but even I, the _author_, am starting to realize that he actually adores Harry. Even vampires can feel love.

Oh, and also, there's a small surprise for you! **There will be a third slash-couple in this fic! **And it's gonna be awesome! ^^ You'll learn more about that in the next chapter! Or possibly the chapter after that. Thanks for reading.

Now - REVIEW. Please?


	18. Chapter 17

I don't own Harry Potter.

I own the plot of this fic, this particular story in other words, and every character that has not been presented in the original work by JK Rowling. (Such as Nathanael and Trenton)

Tadaa! I'm not dead! I'm back. Still stressed out as hell and still failing classes BUT - I'm definitely making progress. The thing is, the next few months are going to be... painful. Some of you might be aware of the fact that I'm a senior of a high school where we study music and drama. And as our final production, we're putting up this huge show. My class is putting up a modern version of the musical Cabaret. (FYI, I'm playing Joni, one of the three hosts of Kit Kat Club. We had to add more characters to the story, since the original production only has like eight or nine major roles.)

Anyways, we've been rehearsing since October, but since we only have two more months to go before the première, we're rehearsing like CRAZY right now! I'm not even kidding. We're rehearsing weekends, evenings, and they even changed our schedule to make more room for rehearsals.

So yes - I'm back, but I still won't be able to update as often as I would like. I hope that's okay with you guys. I've missed Possess Me SO much! :)

So here we go! Chapter 17. Beta-ed and all! ^^ Yaaay! My beta rules!

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"Argh… Where is it?!" Harry was annoyed.

Two more weeks had passed and Harry was starting to feel more and more comfortable with his new nature. Well, at least he didn't wake up in the middle of the night with the need to throw up because of horrifying, bloody and very vivid dreams anymore. For which Harry was extremely thankful. And he was starting to feel somewhat happier. He didn't even have to fake his smiles anymore. Harry was thankful for that, too, since he was well aware of the fact that he didn't possess any acting skills, what so ever. So most of the time, Harry Potter was enjoying his new way of living.

At the moment, however, Harry was annoyed.

"Tom?" Harry called and sighed as he stared at the mountain of shirts and robes and other random garments. Harry was shivering, as he was only wearing his favourite pair of black leather pants and a silver chain around his neck. "Tom! Hello? Did you drown in there?" He glared at the elegant bathroom door with its golden adorations and black doorknob. The door finally opened and a pale, handsome face surrounded by black curtains of wet hair peeked out.

"What?"

Harry smirked as Tom was obviously not wearing a towel around his waist, and Harry caught a glance of Tom's naked body.

"You naked?"

Tom smirked back and opened the door, letting Harry's eyes feast on the sight. Harry swallowed and stared at the droplets that clung to Tom's shivering skin.

"Maybe I am." The smirk was replaced by a questioning look. "What is it?" Harry tore his eyes from Tom's pert nipples, sighed and gestured to the pile of clothes.

"I can't find my crimson shirt. You know, the one with black leaves on the chest and-"

"Did you look in the closet?" Tom drawled, sounding somewhat tired. Harry gave him a sarcastic look.

"The _closet_! It never even crossed my mind to look in the closet!" He took a seat on the chair in front of the bed. "Of course I looked in the closet. It's not there."

Tom stared at the heap of silk, cotton and different magic-fabric thrown on the floor and gave Harry a look.

"So you... decided to _empty_ the closet instead?" He took out a towel from behind the door and tied it around his hips. The older man blinked and pursed his lips, as he also noticed a foot-shaped hole in one of the closet's doors. "Violence is never the answer, Harry. What did the poor closet ever do to you?" He drawled and gave Harry an amused smirk. Harry glared at the hole and turned away with an annoyed frown.

"Well, I'm starting to think the closet actually _ate_ my shirt. Where could it be?"

Tom bent down under the table on Harry's left and pulled out something red and wrinkly. He handed it to Harry who stared at the shirt with a dumbfounded look.

"Under the table, apparently. Now, would you let me finish my bath? The water's getting cold." He went back into the bathroom, leaving Harry staring after him. Harry turned his gaze to the shirt in his hands. How the hell did it get under the table? A memory flashed through his head from last week and he remembered with a blush how it got under the table. So it was Tom's fault then... He was the one who had ripped the shirt off and tossed it away. Harry sighed and held the shirt up, judging if he needed to iron it. He decided it was too wrinkly, and gave a quick flick with his right hand. The wrinkles were straightened out and Harry brought the shirt to his nose. It didn't smell bad, so he put it on and was just about to button it when Tom walked out of the bathroom, rubbing a white towel against his chest.

"That looks nice on you," he said with a plain face and picked out some clothes for himself before quickly making the pile of clothes fly into the closet again and then he closed it.

"Thanks. Nathanael gave it to me... He said he bought it in the human world."

Tom gave Harry a look while making a somewhat annoyed sound in his throat. Harry rolled his eyes; he knew that Tom didn't like Nathanael very much. _Resented_ was, in fact, a much more fitting term for the feelings Tom held for Nathanael.

Actually, Harry didn't really like Nathanael either, but the vampire prince had proved himself to be pretty nice at times. When he wasn't cocky, or smug, or rude, or teasing, he was nice. Sort of...

"You seem to be annoyed today," Tom said as he put on his own pair of black pants. "It's not like you to..." He threw another glance to the foot-shaped hole in the closet and quirked an eyebrow. "Do _that_."

Harry bit his lip and stopped buttoning his shirt. He knew he was acting a bit strange. And he even knew the reason why he was acting up. He glanced carefully at Tom's broad back, where the muscles tensed and relaxed under the fine skin. He knew why he felt angry and annoyed and _nervous_... But he didn't know how to tell Tom. Not yet. He felt stupid.

"I know. I'm sorry... I've been feeling tired."

Tom turned to look at his younger lover and blinked slowly. He threw his long, black hair over the shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Is that so?"

Harry nodded and smiled.

"Yep," he said and laughed nervously. "S-so... Are we going soon?"

They were invited to a special dinner with Trenton and some of his friends. Only Vampira Magikas were allowed to attend the fancy dinner and Harry was starting to feel nervous. This meant that he would be meeting a lot of powerful and important vampires, not to mention royal ones. Nathanael was going to be there along with his older half-brother who, at the moment, lived in Sweden in the human world.

"Yes," Tom said and sighed, accepting the fact that Harry wasn't going to tell him the real reason for his mood. "Don't forget your cloak. It's extremely important you wear it today."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry muttered and grabbed his black cloak. It was elegant looking with its dark gray details and silver buttons and despite the fact that Harry didn't really like wearing cloaks, this one was his favourite.

They went through the dark corridors and Harry stared at the floor, deeply engulfed in guilty thoughts. He knew Tom was watching him, but he pretended not to notice because what was on his mind was more important. He could barely believe himself.

Harry had forgotten all about them. He felt guilty enough to slap himself. If it weren't for them, he might still have been trapped in Hogwarts. If it hadn't been for them, Harry would still be walking around, feeling miserable. He had promised not to forget! But he had...

Yes, that's right; He had forgotten about Draco and Blaise.

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The great hall was adorned with gold, black and silver coloured faux fairies flying around in the music-filled air. Enchanted candles floated a few inches above the long, cloth covered table, spreading enough light in the room for the vampires to be able to see. Then again, vampires were able to see in the dark, so darkness really wasn't an issue.

Harry gulped nervously and despite his desire to inch closer to Tom as they walked in, the desire to make Tom proud of him was greater. So Harry lifted his chin and put on a cool expression as three dozen noble vampires watched them enter the room. He knew exactly how good they looked together - Harry dressed in his crimson shirt, black leather pants and the black cloak, and Tom wearing black pants, a plain white button-up, and a dark green cloak with silver details, his hair tied with a small, black bow.

They took a seat by the table - Tom sat next to Trenton and Harry took a seat next to Tom. Trenton gave them approving looks before standing up.

"Welcome, dear guests, to my home!" Trenton said beaming with a bright grin and laughed when he got appreciated mumbles and applause. "I would like to present our newest member to this gathering; young Master Harry Potter; Vampira Magika and Sir Tom Riddles partner." The older vampire turned to Harry who paled and swallowed nervously. "Stand up, boy. Let them have a look at you."

Harry stood up slowly and tried to look as calm and collected as possible. The fact that he was presented as the partner of Tom Riddle made his heart swell and he wanted Tom to feel proud. So he put on a colder face and gave a chilly smirk when dozens of curious eyes wandered over him. When he was finally allowed to sit down, he released the breath he had been holding and swallowed as he stared down at his blood-filled bowl. It made him feel even sicker. A hand caressed his knee and Harry turned to Tom, who gave him a calm look.

"Well done," he murmured to Harry when they started to eat. Harry stared at the small bowl of blood he had been given and forced the nausea to retreat.

"Thanks. I just wish someone would've told me Trenton would do that. I would've dressed in something more formal. Or at least prepared myself," he whispered, feeling annoyed. Tom gave a calm ghost of a smile and threw a glance at Harry's bowl.

"You look fine. By the way, that's not human blood. Go ahead and eat it."

Harry blinked and turned back to the crimson fluid.

"It's not human blood?" He asked and lifted the spoon from the table. "Then what is it?" He carefully put the spoon in the blood and placed it to his lips.

"It's a mixture of lion and goat. I think you'll like it. Or at least handle it."

Harry carefully sniffed the spoon and when the spicy yet sweet scent made his mouth water a little, he put it in his mouth and closed his eyes as the blood on his tongue made his senses dance. He could actually feel how his eyes darkened hungrily.

"Thank God, it's actually good", he sighed with pleasure as his head hummed hungrily at the wonderful, wonderful taste.

Harry took another spoonful and then another one. He enjoyed the hot, metallic yet sweet blood running down his throat since he hadn't been able to eat very much at all since the final test. He was hungry.

The dinner went on in a strange but comfortable silence and when they had finished eating, it was time to mingle. The large room, where Trenton hosted the dinner, was tastefully furnished with large chairs, tables and rugs. The huge fireplace in the back of the room was spreading a warm, golden light throughout the room.

"So you're the one who snatched Tommy away from me?" A female vampire said with a teasing smile when she walked up to Harry and Tom. She looked like she was about forty years old with bulging breasts, a red dress and blonde, curly hair. Harry wasn't sure how to reply, so he gave her a cold smile that was supposed to be somewhat polite.

"Seems like it," he replied, and sighed with relief as the woman started chuckling with appreciation.

"Oh, Tom! He's simply _adorable_! Quite impressive for a vampire your age. How old were you again?" She brought a wine glass with blood to her lips, and for a second, Harry was too enchanted by her red polished fingernails to answer.

"Oh, I'm... I'm fifteen. I'll be sixteen in a few months."

The woman nodded again, still wearing the same appreciating, approving look. Harry almost got the feeling that she wanted to take him home. By instinct, Harry took a step closer to Tom.

"That's enough, Lilian," Tom said coolly and quirked the corner of his mouth. "You're going to scare him off if you do that."

"Do what?" She asked not-so-innocently and laughed, while waving her painted fingers around. "Darling, he's much too young for me!" She winked and turned away from them. Harry stared after the woman as she walked towards another couple of vampires to have inappropriate conversations with. Harry turned to Tom and raised his eyebrow.

"Who the hell was that?"

Tom sighed and took a sip from his own glass of blood.

"Lilian Klausson, the fifth daughter of Damien Klausson. He was a very powerful vampire who lived in Europe. He passed away eight years ago. Some say that it was Lilian's older sister, Neptuna, who poisoned him."

"Why would she do that?" Harry asked, feeling a bit appalled.

"Damien was not only very powerful - he was also very rich. And since vampires have a way of living for a very long time, maybe his daughter simply grew tired of waiting for him to die so that she could get his money. So she killed him. No one knows if it actually _was_ Neptuna, though."

"I see..."

As he let his gaze coldly wander over the crowd, Harry finally noticed a familiar face and realized that Nathanael, who was wearing gray pants, a white shirt and a short, crimson cloak, was making his way over to them. Harry tensed a bit and threw a quick look at Tom, who pretended to be indifferent of their new company.

"Harry," Nathanael greeted when he reached them and nodded to Tom as well. "Sir Riddle."

"Young Master Dragulia," Tom greeted back, icy coldness in his voice. "Where is your father? I haven't spoken to Vlad in ages."

Nathanael smirked politely, although Harry could clearly see the chilliness behind the bright eyes.

"My father is arriving late, as he had business to attend. He should be here any minute." He turned to Harry. "Having fun?"

Harry gave the same kind of sarcastic, polite smile that Nathanael had just given Tom.

"'Fun' is an overstatement, don't you think?"

"Oh? Then please, do explain how you feel about this little... gathering?"

Harry sighed and let his gaze travel over the room, where small groups of vampires had spread over the floor, speaking quietly to each other.

"Bored now," Harry said quietly and smirked darkly before he added a quiet: "But I didn't expect anything more." Nathanael smirked back.

"Is that so? And what, may I ask, is it that you find so boring?"

"You mean besides the fact that all of these people are at least one century older than me?" Harry snorted. "I just hate... this." He went silent and turned to look elsewhere, regretting having said anything.

"Hate what?"

Harry could feel Tom's gaze upon him, although the Dark Lord was making a fine job at hiding it.

"I hate gatherings. Everyone stares at me." Harry noticed a group of young looking women, who were pointing and giggling and blushing as they cast glances at him and Tom. He was starting to feel rather sick of it. "Everyone stares at me and Tom, who happens to be _mine,_" he snarled silently and sent the women a dark glare. They shut up and immediately turned away from his stern gaze. Nathanael stared at him and slowly started to grin.

"Woah... Didn't expect your dark side to kick in this quickly, considering the hardship you went through of killing that human girl."

Harry sighed, irritated, and crossed his arms over his chest as Trenton walked up to them. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder and grinned.

"You're doing splendid! Everyone seems to be quite impressed with you, Harry." The older vampire turned to Tom, who was also starting to look annoyed. Then again, Harry was one of the few who could actually tell what the Dark Lord was feeling, so maybe Harry was the only one who noticed? "You got yourself a fine mate, Tom!"

"I didn't choose him, Trenton," Tom said coldly, sounding slightly bored. "It doesn't work that way."

Trenton waved his hand, still oblivious of the annoyance in Tom's voice.

"I know, I know, but still!" Trenton suddenly waved to another one in the crowd and left them as quickly as he had arrived. Nathanael had also left. Harry's eyes searched for him, and when they found him, he couldn't suppress a gasp. "Tom..." he whispered and gently grasped the fabric of Tom's cloak. "Is that... Dracula?"

Nathanael, and another rather young-looking male vampire with long blonde hair and icy blue eyes, were talking to a vampire with long, pitch-black hair, white skin, and dark green eyes. The man was wearing, unlike the rest of the guests, a fashionable suit, with a crimson tie, and on his fingers there were many golden rings.

"Yes," Tom replied after following Harry's gaze. "He's probably just returned from the human world. The other vampire is his oldest son, by the way. Nathanael's older brother, Stephan."

Harry stared at the famous vampires, who despite their quite common looks, seemed to glow with power and darkness. Especially Dracula himself. There was something with him that was plain evil. Harry shivered and took another step towards Tom, as if searching for warmth. He jumped as Dracula, this impressive being of darkness, suddenly turned to look at him.

"Holy shit," Harry whispered, feeling awed, as the other vampire started walking towards him and Tom. Nervousness was starting to make itself known. He stared at the royalty as he came to stand right in front of them, smelling like fresh air, tobacco, and a slight tinge of blood.

"Tom," Dracula said with a dark, almost purring voice. He had a certain accent, but Harry wasn't sure what kind of accent it was. It almost sounded Italian. "It's been too long."

"Indeed it has, Vlad," Tom replied and nodded politely. "Allow me to introduce you to my partner, Harry Potter."

Dracula turned his dark eyes to Harry and gave a long stare, as Harry tried to look as calm as possible. After a few seconds, Dracula gave a slight smile that sent nervous chills down Harry's spine.

"He's a good one, I can tell. I'm actually a little jealous. Ever since Maria died, I've been too lonely... Maybe I should get myself a new mate, too...?"

Tom gave the closest thing to a polite laugh Harry had ever heard, and threw a glance at Harry.

"I'm sure there are many vampires who are jealous of me, right now." Was there a hint of protectiveness in Tom's voice? Or was it possessiveness? "Just as sure as I am that there are many women who would love to spend the night and eternity with you, my lord," Tom said and smirked. Dracula smirked back.

"Indeed they would. I'm aware of it. I just need to find someone that suits my..." He gave Harry another look. "Tastes."

Harry swallowed a nervous lump and gave the vampire an almost defiant, dark look, despite himself. He didn't like the looks Dacula gave his body.

"Well, good luck with finding one, sire," Harry said politely and turned away from the older men, as he glared at the floor. He was already sick of this party. Disappointed, too. Everyone seemed to treat him like a piece of meat anyways. Eye candy. Tom Riddle's pet. Like a slave who'd obey anyone with higher status. He faked an interested look towards the fireplace, while Tom ended his conversation with Dracula. Harry could feel his heart pound and he refused to turn back to Tom until the other man spoke first.

"Don't worry," Tom said, and Harry glanced his way, still feeling somewhat annoyed with the whole situation. "People underestimate you now because you are young. It won't be like that forever, and..." Tom put his hand on Harry's shoulder and turned his around to face him. "I won't let anyone but me touch you."

With that, Tom placed a gentle kiss on Harry's lips, in front of the whole crowd. Harry wasn't sure if any of them were actually paying attention to what they were doing, but it still felt pretty damn good. It felt good that Tom was willing to put it on display; the feelings they shared, and the fact that they belonged together, and no one else was allowed to participate in their relationship.

"Can't we leave now?" Harry said quietly as he tried suppressing a blush. "I'm tired of this."

Tom nodded and went to talk to Trenton. Harry watched him, and gave a sigh as Trenton obviously started whining - he could see the teary eyes even from that distance - but smiled weakly when Tom went back to him, nodding.

"Let's go."

"You're leaving so soon?" Lilian asked and gave Tom a pout. "I would've wanted to speak more to your... Harry."

Harry grit his teeth. There it was again! She just exchanged the word 'pet' with 'Harry'; the damn assumption that Harry was in fact nothing more than a sex-slave. It made him angry. He turned to Lilian before Tom had any chance to reply.

"Well, unfortunately, I don't wish to speak to you anymore tonight. Good evening, ma'am."

He walked out of the room, leaving quite a shocked Lilian gaping, and Harry could hear the amused sniggers from inside. Tom walked up to him and they walked back in silence.

"...Sorry," Harry said grumpily. "She pissed me off."

"I know," Tom said and sighed. "She has always been like that. A man-eater. Just ignore her. She'll find someone new to harass sooner or later."

Harry nodded and they walked on in silence. Suddenly, Harry remembered what he had been thinking about for the past days, and began biting his lip. He glanced at Tom, who was staring straight ahead, with the black hair dancing behind his neck.

"Tom..." Harry started and slowed down. "There is something... That I need to talk to you about."

Tom slowed down as well, and gave Harry a somewhat curious look.

"Oh?"

They stopped and Harry placed his gaze on the dark floor.

"Y-yes... See... I remembered something. Something I should've told you before." He sighed nervously and turned his gaze to the window. The moon was shining brightly tonight.

"Harry?" Tom asked, sounding more stern and Harry cringed. "What is it?" Harry's heart started pounding. Tom wouldn't be happy about this. But on the other hand, Harry had given his word that he'd try to help. And although his darker side apparently was starting to activate, the human inside was telling him to keep his promise.

"See, back at Hogwarts, I..." He sighed. "To make a long story short, I got a lot of help from two students; Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini." He gave Tom a pleading look. "If it hadn't been for them, I might've still been trapped there!"

Tom stared at him and his eyes narrowed.

"What exactly is it... that you want me to do?"

Harry took a deep breath and gathered his courage.

"Blaise Zabini has the vampiric virus, so he can easily be turned into a vampire, which is something that he really wants. Draco Malfoy is his, uh... Draco doesn't have the vampiric virus in his body, but he still wants to be turned and I know that that's supposed to be impossible but I gave my word I just can't ignore the fact that they risked a lot for my sake! For _our_ sake!" Harry rambled and took another deep breath before grasping Tom's cloak and giving his lover a stern look. "Please… We have to help them!"

Tom stared coldly at him and gave an annoyed sigh.

"You just remembered this? After being here for over two months?" He asked and when Harry gave an embarrassed nod, he shut his eyes in an irritated manner. Then he sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

"Really?" Harry stared at him, put his arms on Tom's chest, let them wander to his neck, and gave a soft kiss to Tom's cheek as thanks. "Really...?" His lips went to Tom's neck. "Thank you..."

"You'll have to show me how grateful you are..." Tom purred and bent down to capture Harry's lips in a proper kiss. Harry knew Tom was still annoyed with him for causing such trouble, and he would've been ashamed of himself, had he not been so incredibly turned on at that moment. His tongue went out to lick at Tom's lips and when the cool mouth opened, Harry dove in. He gave a keening moan as Tom's hand started rubbing his lower back.

"Why, is this really something you should be doing _here_?" Nathanael's voice reached Harry's ears and he stiffened and gave the young vampire prince an angry glare, as Tom released his lips and straightened. Nathanael gave a cocky grin, and shrugged.

"I couldn't help but to overhear your conversation, and..." He made a dramatic pose. "I'm willing to help you out! But you'll owe me one!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"WHY does he have to be a part of this?" Harry whined and unbuttoned his shirt. "Why can't just the two of us go back to the human world and fix everything?"

Tom was already naked and was making himself comfortable on the bed.

"One; because Nathanael is, despite being an idiotic moron, very skilled when it comes to travelling between dimensions, and two; we might need his knowledge about turning wizards into vampires."

Harry stilled and stared at Tom.

"You mean...there might be a way?"

"I can't make any promises," Tom said and gave a tired yawn. "We'll discuss it tomorrow. Now get undressed already."

With an annoyed pout, Harry kicked his pants off and crawled into the big bed. He snuggled up close to Tom, who, apparently by instinct, put his arm around him.

"So we'll definitely go to the human world tomorrow?" Harry whispered, as he started to feel tired himself. The party had been more draining than he thought. "You promise we'll go back there?"

"I promise."

"And you promise we'll try to help them out?"

"Why else would we be going there?"

Harry smiled into Tom's chest and snuggled even closer, before planting a soft kiss on the skin.

tbc.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Okay, not the best chapter I've written, BUT, a chapter none the less. Also, I'm super-sleepy right now... So... yeah. I'm going to bed now. For those of you who didn't understand - Nathanael decided to go with them to the human world, and Tom agreed, since Nathanael is good at opening portals and stuff like that.

And YES - there might be a way for Draco to become a vampire after all! WHAT could it be? Read the next chapter and find out!

And please, for the love of God, REVIEW. I seriously need you to review, if I'm ever going to find the energy and the will to write anymore chapters


	19. Chapter 18

I don't own Harry Potter. In other words - I disclaim any rights to Harry Potter. They all belong to JKR.

I do own the plot of this fiction, and any character that is not from the original books by JKR.

A/N: Sorry guys, late again. I don't even need to tell you how much of a pain school is, do I? But seriously... I've even started having bad dreams about homework! Also, we went on a trip to Turkey, and I just got home yesterday. ^^ MAN, did I miss my laptop!

I would like to take this opportunity to THANK everybody for reviewing so faithfully and keeping my spirits up, even though I recently had a rough time. I also wanna thank everyone who wrote me emails telling to get down to business. If you hadn't done that, I might've given up.

I'm sorry for neglecting you guys. I used to be so passionate about fan fiction, but now all I can think about is college, grades, summer job, money, moving out, getting my driver's licence and a bunch of other boring adult-stuff. I wish I was sixteen again. But NO... once you turn nineteen, there's nothing you can do about it. I'm starting to grow up, and I hate it.

Warnings: The usual, slash, darkness, crude language... etc.

(OBSERVE – _this chapter is __**not**__ edited by my beta_! I wanted to get it up as soon as possible, and I simply couldn't wait. I'll send it to her, and replace this with the edited version as soon as she's finished with it. Okay?)

Chapter 18.

* * *

"I feel sick," Harry murmured and put a hand over his mouth, as they made their way through the streets of London. It was night, and no one was out except a few yelling and laughing drunks. They had transported themselves to England just a few minutes ago, landed with a boom in an alley and scared the hell out of a cat.

"It didn't feel like that last time", he complained and rubbed his temple. He had changed into normal muggle-clothes and was now wearing regular, bright blue jeans, a red t-shirt and a pair of black sneakers.

Tom, who was wearing black pants and a grey button-up under a dark gray coat scoffed and gave Harry an amused look.

"It did feel like that last time, you just don't remember it."

"What?" Harry gave Tom a bemused, and somewhat insulted look. "I do too! I remember everything about that night!"

"Yeah?"

"Yes!"

"Then tell us, exactly, how it felt," Nathanael said and peeked at Harry over his shoulder, as he was walking a few steps ahead of Harry and Tom. Harry gave a dignified scoff.

"Well, it felt like..." Harry started, but went silent. "Uh... It... felt like... Damnit, Nathan, don't laugh at me!" Harry smacked the back of Nathanael's head as the young vampire-prince's back was shaking with silent laughter. "I thought I remembered... wait, I remember Tom grabbing onto me-"

"It was you who grabbed onto me."

"Whatever... _I_ grabbed onto _Tom_, and then... Shit, I can't remember! I didn't feel sick afterwards, did I? All I can remember is being pressed up against a tree in the middle of a dark forest."

Nathanael laughed even harder upon hearing Harry's innocent report. Tom sighed.

"The reason you can't remember is because you had just been turned into a vampire... Most people lose consciousness afterwards, but you managed to stay awake. I mean... do you remember what happened the first hours after you were born?"

"Of course not," Harry said and rubbed his temple again. "Okay, okay... I get it. I'm just saying I feel sick."

"Maybe Tom could kiss it better?" Nathanael chirped and Harry gave a murderous glare to his back.

"Damn vampire-prince... Hey, Tom, where are we going anyways?"

Even though Harry was the one who had insisted on going back to the human world to help Draco and Blaise, he had no clue what so ever what to do, so he let the older vampires deal with coming up with a plan. Tom had decided that their first stop would be the Malfoy-mansion. It was Christmas break, and Draco would probably be at home.

"We're going to find a broomstick for you," Tom replied in his usual, calm manner without sparing Harry a glance.

"Huh?" Harry stared at his older lover. "A broomstick? Why?"

"Because you're still too young to fly all the way to the Malfoy's, so it's easier for you to fly there on a broom."

Harry was silent for a few seconds, feeling strangely abashed. He stared at the stones on the ground as he walked, and then his eyes went to Tom's elegant black leather shoes. Tom was acting a bit cold, and Harry knew why. Well, he didn't exactly _know_, but he was fairly sure it had something to do with the fact that Harry had needed Draco and Blaise's help to be able to turn into a vampire. A task Harry was supposed to get through on his own. Without the help of mere humans.

And because Harry had promised Draco, they had to go back to the human world, get Draco and Blaise and bring them to the vampire dimension. Once there, they had to try and figure out a way for Draco to turn into a vampire. If that didn't work, Draco would be sent back. And what about Blaise?

All these problems and bothers... Just because Harry wasn't able to manage on his own. What a disgrace. To be indebted... to humans.

"Humans are cows compared to us..." Harry whispered and returned his gaze to the uneven rocks on the ground.

He glanced to Tom's face and regarded the coldness, the annoyance and the determination. Determination to get this childish operation over and done with. Harry decided to stay silent for a while.

A few minutes later, they stopped by a brick wall, and Tom hit the wall with his wand three times. Harry cast a glance to the street to make sure no one was watching them. The brick wall opened up and Tom turned to Harry.

"Stay here. I'll be right back."

Harry wanted to object, but considering what Tom had to withstand just to make Harry content made his shut his trap and obediently watch Tom disappear into the wall.

"... Where did that opening go to?" He asked Nathanael, who was smoking a muggle cigarette, leaning casually against the wall.

"If I remember correctly, that was the shortcut to a bar where Tom knows a guy who knows a guy, if you know what I mean..." He gave Harry a crooked smirk, as if he was expecting Harry to smirk back, but the fifteen year-old only gave a confused blink and an innocent:

"Huh?"

The vampire-prince's smirk was replaced by a small, amused smirk.

"You're really young..."

Harry's confused face took a darker shape and the green eyes turned cold.

"I fail to see how that's my fault." Harry glared at him and held his hand out. Nathan gave the hand a confused look, and Harry's eyebrows furrowed a little as the youngling's gaze grew colder. "Give me that. I want one."

It was Nathan's turn to give a confused look, but he soon realized that Harry was referring to the pack of cigarettes he was holding. After a few seconds of hesitation, he gave Harry the pack and watched as Harry picked up a long, white stick. The boy put it in his mouth and lit the end. Smoke invaded him, and Nathan was half-expecting Harry to start coughing and gag, but the teen seemed used to it and soon enough, a big cloud of white smoke poured out of Harry's mouth. The young boy relaxed a little and leaned against the wall next to Nathan.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"... So... a bar?"

"Yep," Nathanael said and let out another cloud of smoke. "Apparently, he knows a guy who sells everything and anything. Ha has a magic bag, see. The dude keeps all kinds of things in it."

"And Tom's gonna check if he happens to have a broomstick in storage?"

"That's the plan."

"Okay."

The minutes that went by were silent but strangely comfortable. When Tom returned with a broomstick for Harry, Harry had already finished a second cigarette. He yawned and shuddered a little from the chilliness of the midnight air, but once he saw the broomstick Tom was holding out for him, he felt excitement sparkle in the pit of his stomach.

After four years as the Gryffindor seeker, Harry would never be able to forget how great it was to fly on a broom. He grabbed the stick and gave Tom a careful smile as thanks. Tom only gave a brief nod and jumped - right up into the air. Nathanael did the same, and it quickly dawned on Harry that he was supposed to follow them. He brought the broomstick between his legs and jumped off.

It felt great. The cold air wasn't a problem anymore, as Harry soared over Tower Bridge and then lowered himself deep enough to fill his hand with cold water. He wanted to laugh, as his entire being was filled with joy, but he noticed that Tom and Nathanael weren't sharing his happiness. The older vampires waited patiently for his little fun to end, and Harry flew back to his elders.

"Sorry..."

"I knew this would happen..." Tom murmured in a strange tone, almost sad, and Harry gave him a nervous and confused look. Knew _what_ would happen? Harry didn't want to ask, as he suddenly started feeling annoyed.

Tom and Nathanael didn't _have_ to come along. Harry didn't exactly force them to participate. He'd asked for Tom's help, and if that was too much... Harry gave Tom a defiant look.

"Shouldn't we get going?" Harry asked, feeling cold again. Tom nodded and flew off. Harry and Nathanael followed him, and no more words were spoken.

After almost forty minutes, Harry had to grit his teeth as the pain from his frozen fingers made his eyes tear. He wanted to ask Tom if they could have a quick break, or at least slow down a notch, but Tom was already four metres ahead of him and didn't look like he was very talkative at the moment. Harry gave his fingers a sad glance. They were probably going to swell up a little once they reached the ground.

Just as Harry thought this, something wondrous happened; Tom began to slow down. They flew lower and lower and Harry could see a huge series of houses through the clouds. The mansion was made out of grey stone and the front yard was impeccable. When they finally landed - right outside the main door - Harry put the broomstick away and let it rest against the wall.

"What's the plan?" Nathanael asked and crossed his arms over his chest. Tom was about to speak, but this part of the plan Harry actually knew about, so he went ahead.

"You knock on the door and claim to be from Gringott's, here to check on their real estate, while Tom and I fly around the house, looking for Draco's room. Once we find it, we'll take Draco with us and leave. You guys can communicate through thoughts, right?"

"So can you," Tom drawled and Harry gave him a quick glance.

"Yes, but apparently I'm too young for everything, so I suggest you tell Nathanael when it's time to leave. Who knows, I might mess up."

He knew his voice was unnecessarily cold, and he knew he was acting like a spoilt child, but at the moment, he simply did not care. Tom was always getting annoyed or angry with Harry without telling him what the problem was. He might as well get a taste of his own medicine.

"Let's go," Harry said and stomped off the ground. Tom followed him and after a few seconds, they heard how Nathanael knocked on the door.

They searched in silence, and Harry's only acknowledgement of Tom's presence was the few glanced he shot at his lover every now and then. Most of the windows and balconies they passed were dark and probably unused, but when they reached the third floor, Harry saw a light in one of the windows next to a big balcony. The door was open, and Harry stopped momentarily to peek through the window. He smiled in triumph when he saw a blonde young boy sit by a desk, writing something.

He gave Tom a glance and a nod, and they landed on the balcony as silent as they could. Draco obviously hadn't noticed anything. Harry walked into the room while Tom waited outside. When Draco still didn't turn around to face him, Harry smirked and leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets.

"I like what you've done with the place," he spoke and was quite amused as Draco jumped and almost spilled his ink as he turned around, eyes huge in his pale face. "It's real cosy."

"P-potter..." Draco stuttered, weakly, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Harry felt a weak sting of guilt and nodded.

"Yeah... sorry to drop in unannounced and all, but... I remembered."

"You... You remembered?" Draco whispered, and Harry suddenly realized that something was wrong. Draco looked... destroyed. And the disbelief in his eyes was replaced with fury. "You remembered?! After two fucking months, you remembered that we helped you escape?! Stole the knife, lied to McGonagall... Fuck, Potter!" Draco could barely speak properly, and he spat on the floor. Harry noticed a bruise on Draco's left cheek, and it looked somewhat fresh.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized. He stayed as cold and indifferent as before, but the sting of guilt was more noticeable now. Draco's eyes were filled with angry tears.

"You better be." The two boys stared at each other, one of them cold and seemingly uncaring, the other shaking with fury. "You have no idea... No idea what a mess you left behind. You have no fucking clue!"

"... A mess?" Harry frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"We helped you escape, Potter!" Draco winced and gave a high-pitched laugh, as if he was going insane. If Harry hadn't been a vampire, Draco would probably have tried to punch him several times by now. "Don't you get it? Everyone believes in Dumbledore, that fucking saint-wizard, and in their eyes, Potter... In their minds, we handed the boy-who-lived over to you-know-who!"

Harry's cool was starting to falter as he turned his gaze to the floor.

"But I told Dumbl-"

"It doesn't matter!" Draco yelled. Tears leaked down his face. "It doesn't matter what you said. According to Dumbledore, you-know-who put a spell on you... According to Dumbledore, you didn't know what you were doing! According to Dumbledore," Draco's yelling had resigned to whispering. "... We killed Harry Potter."

Only the clock on the wall made its tick-tack sounds as Harry met Draco's bewildered stare.

"I'm not allowed to live in the Slytherin house anymore. I have my own room... A really small one. I'm not allowed to be the quidditch team... I'm not even allowed to go to the same classes as the other students! I have to take all of my classes alone... They say the only reason we're not being sent to azkaban is because we're minors. And Blaise... Blaise doesn't even go to Hogwarts anymore." Draco sniffled and rubbed his eyes with his slim fingers before he flopped down on the bed.

"He was expelled. His mom came to get him... She was really angry. So were my parents... I had to stay at home for a week before they let me go back to school. They had to pay a fortune so that I wouldn't be expelled, too."

"... Mind me saying this, but... Weren't your parents death eaters? Why would they be so pissed? Shouldn't they be proud that you helped me run away? To Voldemort, and all..."

Draco hissed at the name, and spat.

"My parents are cowards!" He yelled. "And liers... Fucking liers, do you seriously think that they'd be proud? First of all, they don't worship you-know-who, they are scared of him! They're so afraid of him that they'll do anything to not make him mad. But this was different. It's not like death eaters like to _tell_ people that they are death eaters, they just are!" Draco sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. "The Malfoys have always had a bad reputation amongst other wizards... Malfoys have always been considered evil by other wizards, except for other Slytherin-families."

Draco gave Harry an angry look.

"And now the heir of the Malfoy house, Lucius and Narcissa's only son, helped you-know-who to kill Harry Potter!"

"That's not how it-"

"It's all over the daily prophet!" Draco winced and gave a hateful look to a magazine on the floor next to the bed. Harry went over and picked it up. It was dated almost two months ago, with the Hogwarts castle in the background and the headline; 'The boy who lived - dead!? You-know-who was helped by two Hogwarts students!!'

Feeling a bit nauseous, Harry flipped though the pages until he found a big spread with Draco and Blaise's pictures, slightly censored by black stripes over their eyes. There was also a big picture of himself, and the text; 'R.I.P. Harry Potter, the boy who lived.'

"Holy shit..."

"Yah." Draco seemed to be too exhausted to yell any more. "It's fucking messed up. Dad said that I have disgraced my entire family by exposing us as death eaters..." The blonde boy muttered sadly and rubbed the bruise on his cheek. "The same went for Blaise... I think. His mom has also been a fan of Voldemort, but after this... All of them are cowards. Stupid... Idiots... They say it's going to be a war now, since they think that you-know-who killed you, and everyone blames us."

"I'm... I'm sorry," Harry said again, feeling genuinely sorry for the mess he had caused. Draco nodded weakly, obviously calming down. After a few minutes of heavy silence, Draco gave Harry a serious look.

"Weasly, too."

"What?" A cold knife suddenly jabbed Harry's chest as he gave Draco a intense stare. Draco's steady eyes didn't waver as he met the young vampire's gaze.

"I said; Weasly, too. Ron Weasly helped you escape, right? He carried you to the stairs. They saw you. And although he hasn't been nearly as shunned as me and Blaise, he is being avoided in school. The teachers keep giving him really dirty glances and they punish him for the tiniest mistake. I hear he's not even allowed to come home to his family... He got a letter just before I went home for Christmas. It was one of those talking notes... Must've been humiliating... It was his dad's voice. It told him straight out that he wasn't welcome home, and that he had to spend Christmas at school."

Harry stared at Draco as the pain in his chest increased.

"... Wha..." Harry stared at the floor with wide eyes as his hand went up to cover his gaping mouth. He couldn't breathe properly.

Ron... Ron, his best friend. The one he'd miss the most! He had destroyed everything for him... And his family, the family Harry used to love...

"Where are they now?" Harry asked weakly.

"Blaise is at his mother's home, and Weasly is probably still at school..."

"We have to leave. Pack your stuff. Not too much though. And bring your broomstick."

* * *

"Is this it?" Harry asked as they landed outside another mansion, a black one and considerably smaller than the Malfoy's. Draco threw a longing look to the house.

"Yes... This is it." He gave a weak smile. "I haven't seen him in weeks..."

Tom and Nathanael landed silently behind the teenagers and Draco gave them a nervous look. He had been extremely startled to realize that the dark lord Voldemort had been standing on his Balcony all along, but had soon calmed down. After all, Draco had helped Harry, so there shouldn't be a reason for Voldemort to be angry or, well... kill him.

"We have to hurry up a little. I have a feeling that the Malfoys are going to discover that their son is missing soon, and that'll make everything more complicated. People will start searching," Nathanael said and threw a bored glance to the black house. Draco snorted.

"They won't notice. They don't visit my room anymore. I got my Christmas dinner from a house elf."

"Never the less, let's hurry. I take it we'll go with the old plan, right?" Nathanael grinned and walked towards the door. Harry, Draco and Tom lifted from the ground and flew to Blaise's room while Nathanael distracted the mother. The room was found quickly, as Draco knew where it was, but unlike Draco's room, this one didn't have a balcony.

Draco, who was the most eager to see Blaise, tapped on the glass and soon, a dark-skinned boy appeared on the other side. When he saw who it was, the ice-blue eyes grew large and he hurridly opened the window to let them in. Draco flew in, almost knocking over a plant on his way and threw the broomstick to the side before he wrapped his arms around Blaise's neck and kissed him fiercly. Harry watched, with a strange warmth spreading through his chest, how Blaise wrapped his strong arms around Draco's waist and kissed him back with the same fevour.

Tom obviously opted to stay outside.

"Draco... How did... Why..." Blaise stared at his boyfriend, then at Harry, and back to Draco.

"Blaise, they're here! They've come to get us!" Draco whispered, joy written across his face. "It's over now... Potter finally," Draco threw Harry an annoyed look. "Remembered."

Blaise stared in disbelief at Harry, who gave an apologizing shrug.

"Sorry. I had a lot on my mind."

* * *

"We just have one last stop," Harry said, as they left the Zabini compound and soared upwards.

"What?" Nathanael complained. "We've saved your friends already, I wanna go back and take a bath... All this flying has made me sweaty."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about it, but..."

"But what?"

"Where do you want to go?" Tom asked, and for a moment, there was warmth in those red eyes again. Harry gave his lover a small, apologizing smile.

"Sorry for messing things up, but we have to go to Hogwarts."

"Excuse me?" Nathanael gave Harry a serious look. "Look, I never went to that weird school, but I know that there are people there who are most likely gonna be pretty damn shocked if you suddenly show up."

"That's why we have to sneak our way in. It's night, isn't it?"

"We can't go inside Hogwarts... It's too difficult now, they've cast every damn protective spell there is..." Blaise said, holding onto Draco who was steering the broomstick. Harry bit his lip.

"Draco..."

Draco gave him a suspicious look.

"What?"

"You have to go into Hogwarts and get Ron for me."

Draco stared at him, and looked like he wanted to protest, but the truth was that no one could get inside the Hogwarts area except the students. And at the moment, Draco was the only student of Hogwarts. Harry had probably already been erased from the list of pupils. So in the end, Draco sighed and gave Harry an annoyed look.

"Fine!" He gave a frustrated sigh. "Damn you, Potter, why do you always have to mess things up?"

tbc.

* * *

Weeell? What did you think? I know it's a bit short, but I've really worked my ass off. I didn't have any inspiration as I started writing this chapter, and I wanted it to be really good as compensation for my long absence. However, the passion started to come back to me as I got to the part where Draco yells at Harry. ^^ After that, things went smoothly, and new, brilliant ideas popped up in my head.

So, anyways... I'll try to update asap, which probably won't take long, since I GRADUATE in just one week! XD And I already have a great idea for the next chapter. :)  
(btw, To those of you who read my fic "Sweet and Troublesome" - I'm going to start working on that right away! Gosh, I'm finally back! And it feels great!)

Please review? ^^,


	20. Chapter 19

I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I own any of the characters.

However, I do own the plot of this fiction, and any character involved that is not from the original novels/films. (Which means, Nathanael and Trenton are MY property. Don't steal. It's pathetic.)

Rant on stealing fiction: I can't complain enough!! People steal parts of my chapters all. The. Time!! Can't you just knock it off, seriously?? I mean, are you so unskilled you can't even come up with a story on your own? Are you that pathetic? You actually have to copy MY work and put it in your own fiction? That's just really, really lame. Go practice, get a life. I don't mind people getting inspired by my work, nor does it offend me if people read my fiction striving to get better at writing. I'll take that as a compliment, but stealing?! Come ON.

A/N: I'm back. I'm depressed. But I'm back. You know what I really hate? My own complexity. I write about love, I imagine what it would be like, romance is my passion, it's what I do. Yet I can't seem to get a grip of it in real life. You know what else I hate? Not having the courage to break up. I hate it, I hate it, I HATE it. It shouldn't be this difficult. It shouldn't be this painful. Why can't I just fall in love with the guy? I'm pretty pathetic, really. Five weeks, and I can't stand it anymore. I hate it when he kisses me, yet I can't say no. For his sake. For his kindness and sweetness. We're from different planets, he and I.

Maybe I'm just not meant to fall in love. Like, seriously - here I have this terrific guy, who's really sweet to me, but I'm all "Oh crap, we don't listen to the same music. Sorry." What kind of excuse IS that?!

When I imagine what my future is like, I never see a lover. I just see myself, doing what I love. I see myself moving to Japan, I see myself living in a small but cool apartment, writing novels all day long. I see myself working with music, partying with friends, having fun... But I never see myself with someone I love.

Why is that?

Thanks for letting me type my feelings. Hope I didn't bore you too much.

Warnings: The usual.

(**Obs**, please read the _whole_ A/N at the end of this chapter - It's gonna be fun. Thanks. ^^) 

* * *

"Is this it?" Harry asked, glancing at Draco who stared at the castle through the trees with a concentrated look. The forest around them was dark, even to Harry who had been blessed with extremely good sight.

"Yeah," Draco said, nodding. "Yeah, this is it. Non-Hogwarts people can't go further than this."

"How can you tell?" Nathanael asked, looking puzzled. Draco gave a hollow smirk.

"My skin has started hurting. It means that the magic barrier is right about here, somewhere."

"... They changed the security standards?" Harry asked, bewildered by the fact that his departure could have such a dramatic effect on the magic school. "Just because I left?"

"I already told you," Draco sighed and rubbed his arms with an annoyed look. "To them, there's just no possibility that you left on your own free will. They think you were kidnapped and murdered. And since they all believe that V-voldemort killed you, everyone is worked up. Panicked, in fact."

"Come on, Harry, think!" Blaise exclaimed and shot an angry glare at the old school. "You were 'the chosen one'. And now they think Vol-voldemort is back and has killed you, all their hope is lost. Of course they're upset. They're scared shitless of what Vol-... Tom might do next."

"They don't have to worry," Tom muttered from behind where he leaned against a tree with a horribly casual look that made Harry's heart skip a beat. "I have no further interest in this world."

"Not now when you've got your beloved Harry with you," Nathanael teased and sent Tom a teary look, which the dark lord ignored. Harry's gaze locked with Tom's for a second, and Harry was sure he saw warmth, and worry in the dark orbs. However, the fact that Tom's behavior had made a dramatic turn the minute they arrived to the human world still irked Harry, and the fact that Tom wouldn't even tell him what the hell was wrong made it all worse.

"Go now, and find Ron as soon as possible," Harry said, turning back to Draco, who nodded. "Is Hagrid cottage part of the school area?" He asked.

"No, I don't think so... Considering the weird people he gets visits from every now and then, I'd say you could probably wait there. He's not here now, anyways."

"He's not?" Harry blinked. "Where is he?"

Blaise shrugged but Draco gave Harry a serious look.

"He's off spending the Christmas break at the Weasley's."

"... He was invited to spend Christmas there, while Ron has to stay here?" Harry ground out, feeling more and more furious. Draco gulped and gave Harry a careful nod.

"Yes. Calm down already, your eyes are turning black," the blonde said with a frown. "It's freaking me out a little."

"Sorry," Harry muttered. "It's just so messed up."

"Tell me about it. I'll go now... It might take a few minutes, cuz I have to find him and everything. It's a big castle. Go wait at the cottage."

They did as they were told, and while Blaise and Nathanael chatted about the vampire dimension - as Blaise seemed very interested in it - Harry slowed down to be able to walk next to Tom. As usual, the first minute was awkwardly silent, and Harry shot small glances at his older lover whenever he thought Tom wasn't looking. Although he probably noticed anyway, Harry knew, but he couldn't help it.

Finally, he stopped. Tom stopped, too, as Harry had hoped. The tall man glanced over his shoulder and Harry shuddered as the black hair made a dramatic contrast with the ivory skin and the crimson, glowing eyes.

"Are you planning to wait out here?" Tom asked, and the smooth voice made Harry go weak at the knees, but in his mind Harry was strong. Strength came with anger, he figured.

"No," he said and gave Tom a dark look. "I want to talk with you."

"Now?"

"Yes, now," Harry said and took a step closer. Tom turned around to face him. The red eyes glowed cold as ever. "I have a question."

"What is it?"

"What the fuck is your problem?" Harry hissed, finally letting loose the anger he had kept inside the past few hours. "You always do this!"

"Do what?" Tom asked, calm as ever, and it ticked Harry off even more.

"You're making it completely obvious that you're mad about something, but you still act like nothing, and you won't tell me what's wrong!" Harry had to struggle to keep his voice down, but it still dripped with anger. For the first time that evening, emotions flared in Tom's eyes, and the eyebrows frowned a little. Harry felt a sparkle of triumph. Finally, a reaction.

"I'm not mad."

"Oh, please!" Harry couldn't help the angry scoff that escaped him. "You mutter things when you don't think I can hear you, you get annoyed whenever I do something, or say something and you won't..." Harry lowered his gaze, trembling with frustration. He was behaving like a child again. "You won't look at me."

"Harry..."

"Did I do something?" Harry gave Tom an angry look. "Can't you please just tell me what I did wrong _this_ time?! I always seem to mess up, do the wrong things, act the wrong way... If you don't me, I won't know, cuz I'm like this! I'm stupid and young and... Sometimes I wonder if I'm good enough for you."

That wasn't part of the plan. Harry stared at Tom bewildered by his own words. That wasn't what he was going to say. The plan was to yell at Tom until he got a decent respond, and maybe even sleep on the damn couch when they got back, but not that!

Tom stared back at him, and that's when Harry realized, that he had actually shocked him.

"I always... mess things up..." Harry whispered, knowing Tom could hear him anyways. "I'm sorry I asked for their help. I should've done this myself. But I was desperate... If I failed, what would happen to you and me? Would I be able to see you?"

"Harry-"

"And now, look at the mess I made!" Harry hissed. "Look at what I did!"

"Har-"

"If you dislike me now, I guess I can understand why," Harry said with a hollow, emotionless smirk. "I'm a pretty pathetic excuse for a vampire, huh? Let alone a vampire lord, and your lover!" He had switched to parsel without noticing, but the anger and the helplessness he felt made him unable to control himself. "Maybe you should just keep me in your locker from now on, and I'll be your fuck-doll that you can use whenever you feel like it and-..." Harry was suddenly staring at the tree next to him. That was odd. And the pain on his cheek? Even odder.

He glanced back to Tom who stared at him with a look that sent chills up Harry's back. That fury was... Nothing he had ever seen on the handsome face before.

"...Ow." Harry rubbed his cheek carefully, while tears of shock slowly gathered on his lids. Tom had slapped him.

"Fuck-doll?" Tom hissed back in parsel. Harry's shock was replaced by anger again, and the young vampire lord blinked his tears away. "A pathetic excuse for a vampire?"

"Isn't that what I am?" Harry hissed back, feeling his body thumping as the rage made his blood boil. "You chose me, and yet I always seem to mess things up! And you never tell me what's wrong, what'd you expect?! I panic, you idiot! I feel worthless every time you look at me that way!" This time he actually yelled, but since they were still arguing in parsel, he hoped he hadn't made too much noise.

"I didn't _choose_ you, it was meant to be!! And it's I who panic!" Tom hissed back and Harry was immediately taken aback. What the hell? "Sometimes you... You just..." The words trailed off, and the older vampire panted with the sudden burst of emotions. Harry stared at him.

"I just... What?" English again. They were calming down. Thank the lords.

"You're so young." Tom looked at Harry with something that resembled pity. Harry didn't like it.

"I'm too young? Is _that_ what's bothering you?! It's a little too late to be thinking about that, considering I'll look like a sixteen year-old for the next fifty years!"

"That's not what I meant. You're young, and human... Still human." Tom leaned against a tree and rubbed his eyes, as if he was tired. But the expression was unexpectedly sad, and Harry's heart made a skip again.

"Tom...?"

"Whenever we talk about the human world, or the humans you have left behind to be with me, you get a different expression. Today, when we returned to England, you acted differently. When you flew on the broomstick, too. You're so happy when you do those things. And now we're here to bring not only the two humans who helped you, but also your best friend?"

"I'm sorry..." Harry stared at the ground.

"Three humans. It's childish behaviour, Harry," Tom said, and his voice was softer now. "But I don't mind you being childish at times, since you are, in fact, still a mere teenager."

"What's wrong then?" Harry took a step closer. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry. You have to tell me, cuz I don't understand you... You're too complicated."

Tom actually gave a short snort of amusement. But when he turned to meet Harry's gaze, he looked serious again.

"I'm worried that you'll miss this world too much. I'm worried that you might want to go back here. I'm worried that you won't be able to adjust to our dimension," Tom murmured, and Harry stared at him. His chest was beginning to hurt with all the warmth that was gathering there. "I'm worried that you'll be miserable. I wouldn't know how to make you happy, if the day comes when you regret coming with me."

Harry was now so close to Tom that he could feel the older vampire's breath dancing on his face. He placed his hand on the tree that Tom was leaning on.

"I won't leave you," he whispered. Tom's gaze remained still and the lack of emotions did annoy Harry a little. "There's nothing for me in this world anymore. Everything I grew up with, everything I believed was lie."

He suddenly became bold and tucked himself under Tom's chin. He pressed his nose against the fabric and inhaled the sweet fragrance of his lord.

"Then you came for me." He backed away and gave Tom a confident look. "Why would I ever regret coming with you?"

Tom placed a hand on Harry's cheek and looked at Harry with a strange tenderness that Harry wasn't used to. It was weird watching Tom display emotions, even though that's what he had asked for. It made him feel just a shy and insecure as he was in the beginning.

"People tend to get overly worried when it comes to important persons."

"So I'm an important person?" Harry smirked a little. Tom smirked back.

"I want you." The sudden passion in his voice made Harry gulp and it became rather difficult to suck air into his lungs.

"You possess me."

It became apparent just how much Tom wanted him, when Harry found himself pressed up against the tree with eager, strong lips attacking his own. Not being able to help himself, Harry struggled against the hand that kept his hands locked over his head. They wouldn't budge, and strangely enough, this turned Harry on.

"N-not here... They'll come back soon- Aah!" Teeth nibbled at his neck. The veins seemed to swell with longing for Tom's teeth to break the skin and drink the crimson juice that they contained. The teasing torture went on, and Harry could barely think straight anymore. Tom sniggered against his skin.

"You think I can contain myself any longer? Let them come and behold what I'm doing to you."

"No... Tom, not there! Shit!" He threw his head back as a strong hand pressed down on his crotch. Teeth still worked and nibbled and teased Harry's tender neck, while another strong hand made Harry unable to resist. "Oh God..."

Then the grinding began, and Harry suddenly couldn't care less when Draco returned with Ron. And there was a certain hard length hidden beneath tight pants rubbing against his erection. And those strong legs that forced Harry's apart. Before he knew it, he had already wrapped his legs around Tom's waist, shamelessly thrusting back and moaning when the evident of Tom's arousal rubbed almost too hard against the area that more or less commanded that Harry stripped and let Tom shove it in before he went insane.

A cold hand found its way under Harry's shirt and teased the already pert nipples. Harry groaned and whined when the hand left. Tom sniggered against his neck again, before those sweet lips silenced Harry's open mouth and a furious battle between two tongues started. Harry quickened the speed of their thrusts as the arousal was beginning to take him over completely.

"Oh shit... Ah, ahn! Tom, don't... don't stop...!"

"They're back!" Blaise voice brought Harry back to the dark forest where he was presently humping his vampire-lover. His thrusts slowed down a notch.

"Tom, we need to stop... Stop it." He moaned when Tom grunted with discontent and gave Harry one last hard nibble and then let Harry down from the tree. Harry could barely stand up. A raging hard-on begged for release and his knees were trembling so much that he almost fell when Tom let go of him. He knew he was blushing and he knew his hair was tussled. He wanted to continue. He was still way too aroused with blinding passion, and the fact that the source of this passion was mere inches away from him made it difficult not to jump Tom and continue their session.

Despite this, he felt a rush of excitement at the thought of seeing Ron after so long. He hurriedly straightened his clothes out and forced his arousal to retreat. After taking a deep, calming breath and giving Tom a quick smirk, he turned to where Blaise's voice had come from and started running. Tom followed him.

They reached Hagrid's cottage, and as Draco said, the windows were dark. No one was there. Blaise and Nathanael stood outside the small house. Blaise turned to Harry with a small smirk. Nathanael stared at the two figures approaching. Harry followed his gaze and he could feel how his face cracked open in a large grin. He'd recognize Ron's red tussle of hair anywhere. He was about to wave to them when he realized that there was something wrong.

One - Ron wasn't smiling.

Two - Draco looked worried and kept glancing back.

"What's the matter?" Blaise called.

"I think they might be following us."

"What? Why would they? You're just 'taking a walk', right?" Harry said, still worried by the lack of joy on Ron's face.

Ron and Draco finally reached them. Harry stared at his best friend.

"Well, first of all, I'm supposed to be at home right now. Second, I think they might have discovered that I've disappeared from my room by now. And third, I don't usually hang out with the weasel. I think this may have caused suspicions."

Blaise and Draco kept talking, but Harry could only stare at Ron, who didn't return the gaze. The usually up-beat red-head was staring at the ground. He didn't look happy, nor did he look angry or upset. The gaze was dead, and the once so glittering brown eyes were dull and unseeing.

"Ron..?" Harry carefully approached his best friend when suddenly a purple beam went past his ear from somewhere and Draco gasped.

"Oh shit, they did follow us!"

"Over there, I think I see them!" Someone called, and Harry's heart froze for a second when he witnessed how five or six teachers were running their way. Harry was pretty sure Dumbledore was one of them.

"Draco Malfoy!" Minerva McGonagall's voice called out, and it sounded angry. "We got an owl from your parents. What are you doing here? And what are you doing with Weasley? You're not allowed to walk out this late! And... HARRY POTTER?!"

The five teachers froze in front of the small crew, and Harry put on the darkest expression he could muster. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and some new, young teacher that Harry didn't know stared at them. Dumbledore's expression was wild yet careful.

"Harry Potter? Is it really you?"

Harry could feel how Draco, Blaise and the rest gathered behind him, while Tom stood by his side. Harry smirked.

"None other. How have you been, headmaster?"

Dumbledore stared at him for a second, before he suddenly, out of nowhere pulled his sleeve up and pressed his wand against a weird, red mark on his arm. Dozens of 'bangs' were heard, and suddenly the yard was filled with wizards and witches that Harry didn't know, and some that he did know. There was, for example, Lupin and Sirius. The Weasley couple, with Bill and Charlie. Trelawney was there, and several seventh graders from Hogwarts. They all stared at Harry, who stared back, feeling a bit annoyed. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Why the drama?" He mused and gave the old headmaster another smirk. "Have you come to capture me?"

"Harry!" Molly Weasley called out. "We thought you were dead!"

Harry gave her a cold stare and then glanced at Ron, who looked more alive now that his parents were there. He stared at them, silently begging them to look at him, and the despair Harry saw in those brown eyes made him feel quite furious.

"Well, I'm not," Harry said, voice trembling with anger. "And frankly, I don't understand why so many people have gathered. We're just here to pick up some friend. Nothing to get all upset about." He gave a sweet smile, and suddenly realized that a quivering Hermione was hiding amongst the crowd of witches and wizards. She stared at her once best friends with a frightened look while pointing her wand towards them was a shaking hand.

"We've... We've come to save you!" Hermione spoke silently, yet they all heard her. "We all hoped you'd be alive and that you'd be able to escape from V-v-voldemort!" She sniffled. "That's why we have these marks on our arms! If anyone was to stumble upon something that might have something to do with you... we'd gather. We'll rescue you, Harry!"

Harry stared at her for a second, then he gave a loud, short laugh.

"Save me? Is that what you're doing?"

"Harry, what's going on?" Sirius asked and Harry gave him a short glare.

"Did you know, Sirius? You were my father's best friend, he must've told you about me!"

"... Know what?" Sirius replied after a second's hesitation. Harry's smirk died out and he could feel how the darker side of him started to take over the present.

"Know what I am? Did you know, Sirius... That I'm not human?"

"What is this bullcrap?" Some auror called out, still pointing his wand against Harry. "Are you really Harry Potter?"

"I don't know... Maybe we should take a blood sample?" Harry mused and sniggered. "I ensure you all, this is quite unnecessary. Less you wish to die here, I recommend you get the fuck out of here," he snarled and turned back to Dumbledore. "You always knew, you traitor. You lied to me."

"What's going on?" Someone else called.

"I wasn't kidnapped," Harry snarled. "I'll tell you this once and for all, before we leave, I wasn't attacked or kidnapped or under a spell!"

"Harry?" Molly stared at him and then shot a quick, shameful glance to Ron, who looked as if he wanted to speak, but didn't have the strength. Harry sighed.

"I left of my own free will."

"Why would you do that?!"

"Don't listen to him," Dumbledore yelled. "He's been enchanted, he doesn't know what he's saying!"

Harry snapped.

Without really knowing what he was doing, he stretched his arm out towards Dumbledore, and suddenly the old man was surrounded by a ring of fire. No spoken words, no spells. Just pure rage.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Harry spat. "I was born inhuman. I was born to be something else," he growled angrily and for the first time, he displayed his sharp canines to he crowd. He wasn't sure whether or not they all could see what he was showing, but Dumbledore, McGonagall and the Weasley's could see. And they looked shocked.

"I take it you know about the vampiric virus? For a wizard to be turned into a vampire, one must be born with it. And I was. It was inevitable. And you knew it. You KNEW IT!" Another flare of fire willed up around Dumbledore who tried to protect his old body with his arms.

"Ron Weasley helped me because I asked of him, my best friend, to help me. If you people hadn't tried so fucking hard to stop us, things could've gone so much smoother. But no, you just jump to your own conclusions, as usual." Harry knew he was a little irrational, seeing as they were talking about the feared Lord Voldemort - anyone would jump to such conclusions - but he was too pissed off to care. Tom seemed to enjoy Harry's display of fury, cuz the smirk on his handsome face looked quite proud.

"I wanted to go, and you tried to stop me. Ron was the only one who helped, not only because I asked for it, but because he understood that I couldn't live here anymore." Harry shot an angry glare to the Weasley-members, who looked as if they were trying to decide whether or not Harry was right.

"And I'm not going back. Not to Hogwarts, not the world of magic. I don't belong here anymore. Just forget about me." He had calmed down now, and tried to make it so that they could leave in a somewhat peaceful manner. "I'm taking with me Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and Ronald Weasley, because they wish to come. Seeing as how they've been treated, I can't blame them."

"Is that true?!" Shrieked Molly and stared at her son, who flinched a little. "This is madness!! You're going with them?!"

Harry suddenly felt nervous. What if Ron didn't want to come with him? What if Harry had jumped to conclusions? Ron hesitated, but swallowed and gave his mom a fierce glare.

"Happy Christmas, mother."

"Is that... Tom Riddle? Is it really Voldemort? What... What are you doing with him? Harry, I don't understand!" Hermione cried and her wand shook even harder. Small sparks flew from it as she was unable to control herself. Tom gave an evil grin before he spoke, and no one dared say a word.

"I am lord Voldemort, and I possess Harry Potter because he wants me to. I'm not interested in your world. I won't return here."

The audience shuddered. He could feel their horror. Harry's smirk came back as Tom's arms encircled his waist. Tom was just as sadistic as usual. It felt quite amusing to show their affection for each other, when most people still considered them to be mortal enemies. Tom bent down to kiss and nibble at Harry's neck, and Harry kept their audience's attention by smirking and casually leaning into his older lover. Then he spoke.

"This is truth."

Nathanael stepped out and grinned. With a glance and a nod to Harry, he turned to the crowd of witches and wizards who still stared at the open affection between The boy who lived and ord Voldemort. He cleared his throat and made a dramatic gesture with his hand.

"Bye bye, children."

A large bang was heard, and Harry realized that Nathanael had opened a new portal. They were sucked into it, and with a last glance at Dumbledore, he smiled and waved.

* * *

"Holy shit, I need a drink," Nathanael panted as they landed in the forest outside the castle. "Opening a portal that size wasn't easy, y'know," he gave a semi-serious glare to Harry.

"You were the one who said you'd help," Harry shrugged.

"Yeah, and you still owe me a big one."

Draco and Blaise looked pale from the violent ride, and Ron sat on the ground with his face hidden in his hands. Harry couldn't tell if it was because he was crying, or if he was sick.

"You can go ahead," Harry said and gave Tom a careful look. The man only nodded and gestured for Draco and Blaise to follow him to the castle. A whining Nathanael followed them while complaining about how much he wanted a glass of Lion's blood.

Ron didn't move, and Harry suddenly felt worried that this was a mistake. He had just asumed that Ron wanted to be rescued, but this would get serious consequences. Harry hadn't even thought about it, but now that they were there... Didn't that mean that Ron would sooner or later have to either return, get killed, or get turned into a vampire? Harry found it hard to breathe.

He carefully sat down beside his best friend and gave a soft nudge to his shoulder. Ron flinched a little, but the hands were removed from his face. Tears leaked down his cheeks and the look he gave Harry was a hollow one, but it wasn't angry. Harry sighed with relief.

"How... How are you doing?"

"How the fuck do you think I'm doing?" Ron whispered. Okay, so maybe he was a little angry. "I just left everything behind, my life, the school... My family."

"Ron, I'm sorry," Harry said. Guilt made itself known as his chest started to hurt. "It's just... When Draco told me what happened to you, I just couldn't stand it! It was all my fault, and I'm really... really sorry."

Ron stared at Harry for a second, but then gave a weak smile.

"Nah. My family were all bitches anyways. I never thought..." Ron swallowed hard to keep himself from weeping anymore. "I never thought they'd treat me that way. This is way worse than how they treat Percy. I mean, they're still trying to make him come home. I was banished from my own house..."

Harry put an arm around Ron's shoulder. The red-head was still shaking from shock. Who could blame him?

"I wasn't sure you'd want to come with me. To be honest, I kinda thought you'd kick my ass." Ron gave a short laugh, and Harry smiled. This felt good. Like before.

"I almost did, but I felt too weak. And seeing as you actually came back for me... It means a lot. Mom and dad wouldn't even look at me… Did you see that? It actually felt pretty damn good to leave them beind."

"I'm glad to hear that. I've missed you. Everyone here is at least fifty years older than me. I feel like a runt."

Harry made a face and Ron laughed again, but then turned uncertain. He bit his lip and the brown eyes were filled with confusion.

"Harry... Now that I'm here, what... What will happen to me?"

Harry's smile disappeared. He turned his gaze to the sky.

"I don't know. We'll figure it out, as long as you stay open-minded." He heard how Ron scoffed and the red-haired teen also turned his gaze to the starry sky.

"Open-minded is my middle name, baby."

They laughed again.

tbc.

* * *

Yes, I know it's a bit short, but I think it's pretty decent anyway. And I want to wait with the whole "let's turn the humans into vampires"-deal till next chappie. I need to figure out a way for Draco to become vampire, and I also need to figure out what to do with Ron. I already have a few plans to choose from, so please don't try to give me any ideas.

Example: I've made plans for Harry to... let's say... play tennis in the next chapter. Then I get a review that says "Harry should play tennis is the next chapter!" This kinda bugs me a little, cuz then it'd look like I wasn't the one who came up with it in the first place. You know? Let _ME_ do _MY_ job, okay? All you have to do is to tell me if you liked it or not. ;) Haha.

**OBS!! Very important - I wanna have a voting! Right here, right now;****As of right now, which character do YOU like the most?**** You can choose from every single character I've written about in this fic. (I love all the characters, but my personal favourite right now is Nathanael. He's so much like me! And I created him, too. Mwaha.) ^^ ****Review and tell me****, and I'll tell you which character is the most popular one in the next chapter.**

Please review! :) Happy authors update sooner. When they're not depressed over love-issues.


	21. Chapter 20

I don't own Harry Potter. All credits to JKR, she's my muse.

I do own the plot of this story, and if you copy any material from it to use in your own fanfiction (and publish it without mentioning my name) it's actually a crime.

Warnings; the usual. Slash, bad sense of humour, random darkness and vampirism.

A/N: Do any of you think that Harry's acting like a girl? Seriously, do you? Cuz I got this review that whined about how girly Harry acted in ch 1, and I suppose she/he stopped reading after that. It SUCKS, cuz I'm really trying to make Harry seem UN-girly. Maybe I'm not as skilled as I like to believe. Ah well. You can read about the results from last time's voting in A/N2, at the end of this chapter. ^^

Btw, thank you so much for all the support you gave me last time. I was actually a bit embarrassed to write about my silly love-issues, but I really needed to rant, and a lot of you guys gave me good advices and encouraging comments. :) I really wanna thank you, cuz I finally gathered the courage to break up with my boyfriend, and he took it really well. I'm still a little sad, considering how nice his friends are and the fact that they apparently wanted me to be like the perfect girlfriend for him. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way.  
I'm actually dating a girl now. I went to High school with her, and she's really nice! ^^, Tee hee. (bisexual is thee way to go.)  
It might seem heartless to start dating so soon after dumping my boyfriend, but I've been crushing on her for a while now, so it feels really nice. AND, we've talked a lot about the fact that I like being on my own, so we've decided to just date for a while and see how it works out. If it doesn't, we'll always be friends. ^^ So I'm in a good mood right now.

Here's chapter 20. (woah, chapter 20! :D And over 800 reviews. Thank you so much!)

* * *

"Names?" The red haired boy with gray eyes asked as Draco, Blaise and Ron approached the gate to the large castle. Blaise and Draco glanced at each other with confused expressions, while Ron gave Harry a panicked glance, apparently not knowing what to say. Harry smiled and turned to Tom.

"They're new," Tom explained to the young gatekeeper, who nodded with a bored expression. Without another word, the gate went open and Draco, Blaise and Ron went in. Draco was clutching Blaise's sleeve as tightly as he could, while Blaise wore an expression of wonder, not really paying attention to his very nervous boyfriend. Ron was chewing his lip and kept shooting glances to Harry, who smiled reassuringly to him.

"What's this supposed to mean?!" Trenton asked as soon as they entered the castle, and stared at the three humans who stood before him, shuddering, nervous and very, very excited. "It's against the rules to bring humans to this dimension, less they are to become dinner!" The old vampire exclaimed, and Ron gave a small jump, as did Draco who quickly inched closer to Blaise. Harry stepped forward.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, sir Trenton," he said and tried sounding respectful. "These are some very dear friends of mine, and I wish to experiment whether or not they can be turned into vampires. If I fail, I will send them back." As he said this, he gave a quick wink to Ron to let him know he had the situation under control. Trenton still looked a bit annoyed, but nodded non the less.

"Very well, then. Since it's you, Harry. What are their names? You boy," he said, and turned to Blaise. "What is your name?"

"Blaise Zabini, sir," Blaise replied respectfully. "I have the vampiric virus within my body, as my mother got bitten while she was pregnant with me. I am very grateful to be here." He bowed and Harry chewed his lip nervously, hoping Blaise's respectful manners would appease Trenton.

It seemed to work, as Trenton gave Blaise an approving look and nodded. Then he turned to Draco, who looked much more nervous than Blaise.

"And you?"

"D-Draco Malfoy, sir," Draco said and cleared his throat. "It is indeed an honour to be here."

"Do you possess the vampiric virus?" Trenton asked mercilessly. Draco flinched and Blaise gave his lover a quick glance.

"Unfortunately not, sire." Draco said weakly, sounding somewhat ashamed and even more nervous than before. Trenton narrowed his eyes.

"But you wish to become a vampire?"

"..." Draco didn't reply at first, but then he gave Blaise a quick look and his expression changed. He looked more confident when he finally replied. "With all my heart."

Trenton sighed. He probably noticed how nervous Draco were, despite Draco's efforts to look sure of himself.

"Well, as long as you're sure." He turned to Ron, and Harry immediately took one step closer to his best friend. "And you, lad? What's your name?"

"... Ronald Weasley, sir." Ron sounded more serious than Harry was used to, and he gave his best friend a curious look.

"And do you possess the vampiric virus?" Trenton asked and put his hands into the pockets of his impressive cloak.

"Uh... Not that I'm aware of." Ron swallowed and gave a shrug that was probably supposed to look confident.

For some reason, his reply seemed to amuse Trenton, as the elderly vampire chuckled with delight. Trenton gave Ron's shoulder a pat that made the teen jump a little. Harry bit his lips. He was also starting to feel a little nervous. What if Trenton wouldn't allow them to live in his house? However, when he turned to look at Trenton, he relaxed. The vampire master looked pleased.

"Splendid!" Trenton said and smiled a somewhat friendly smile. "You're all welcome to stay here for as long as sir Harry Potter and sir Tom Riddle wishes. But I must warn you," he lowered his voice and is expression turned darker and more serious. "There are vampires here who think very little of humans. To most of them, you're nothing but food. I therefore recommend you to stay in Harry Potter's chambers until things have settled down. And yes, I will talk to them, Harry," Trenton said just as Harry was about to ask. "You don't have to worry. But you really should hurry up and find a way."

With that, Trenton left them. Ron gaped after him and then turned to Harry with a shaky smile.

"Woah... You kinda get the feeling of Dumbledore times five from that man."

"Well, he is quite powerful, you can't help but to respect him," Harry said. "In this castle, I suppose he is like Dumbledore... Except this isn't a school, and Trenton isn't a headmaster." He laughed a little.

"His name is Trenton?" Blaise asked with large eyes. Harry nodded. "Hn... My mother mentioned something about a Trenton once. He's not the one who bit her, though... But maybe Trenton knows who did it."

"I'm sure you can ask him later, but right now, we should really get going before another vampire discovers that you're here. Then hell will break loose," Nathanael said and gestured for them to follow him.

After a few minutes of gawking, nervous gasps and questions, they reached Tom and Harry's quarters. Nathanael followed them inside.

"Wow," Ron breathed as he stared at the impressive bed, the luxurious furniture and the expensive-looking paintings on the walls. "This is so cool!"

"Do all vampires live like this?" Draco asked as he observed the black, somewhat scary fishes in Harry's aquarium (a gift from Trenton). They had fangs, and were therefore called Vampire Fish.

"No," Harry said and took a seat on one of the stools next to their bed. Tom and Nathanael opted to stand as observe the curious human teens. "Only the Vampira Magika do. The other vampires have simpler rooms. But they're also quite impressive. It's pretty comfortable and luxurious everywhere in this castle." Ron took a seat on another stool next to Harry and put his hands on his knees. Obviously, he was still worried about the whole ordeal.

"I'm surprised," Blaise said and leaned against the wall. "I thought the vampire dimension was supposed to be like this huge world filled with vampires. My mom said that sometimes she gets visions, and she sees a big city, almost like London, where it's always night and stuff... But it's just a castle in a forest."

Nathanael gave an amused snort at that. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Do you honestly think that this is the only place in our dimension? This is just a forest, boy. Trenton doesn't like the bigger cities, so he prefers to stay in places like this. But there are terrific, huge cities. Countries even, where other vampires live. We're much more civilized than most humans seem to believe. Only a few vampires opt to visit the human world, but most vampires prefers to stay here. It's more comfortable."

Ron stared at Nathanael as he spoke and seemed quite amazed. Blaise and Draco also looked pretty shocked.

"Really? There are countries?" Draco asked and looked a little excited. Nathanael nodded.

"The vampire dimension isn't as big as the human world, but we have nine different countries in this dimension. Each country is about the same size as England. Except Euranya - it's almost as big as Turkey."

"How many vampires do you think there are?" Tom asked, and for the first time, he actually gave a small smile. Harry smiled, too, and glanced to Ron who still stared at the older vampires with an amazed expression.

"I dunno," Blaise said and seemed to think. "Uh... Thousands?" Nathanael gave a short laugh.

"There over two million vampires in this dimension," he said and looked pleased as he had obviously managed to shock the cocky ex-slytherin. "In this castle, there are currently eighty-four vampires habitant. And three humans."

"Oh yeah, about that," Ron suddenly spoke for the first time in a while and everyone turned to him. He looked a little dazed. As if he was really tired and was about to fall asleep. "Is there really a way for me to become a vampire?" He asked silently, and Harry's heart ached a little. Maybe this was too much for Ron to take in. Nathanael stared at the redhead who seemed to stare blindly at the floor.

"... There is," Nathanael said, and Harry's head snapped up. There was? "But only if you're absolutely sure you want to do it. It's... It's going to be painful."

"I can handle pain," Ron muttered and Harry noticed that his hand rubbed a spot on his hidden wrist. "And since I can't go back after all that... There's no other way, is there?" He gave a shaky smile. "I want to try."

Draco and Blaise stared at Ron, as did the three vampires. Harry mentally smiled proudly. Ron had become more mature during the time they'd been apart. Nathanael smiled gently.

"Well then," he said and gave Ron a encouraging look. "We will try."

* * *

"Is there really a way for them to become vampires?" Tom asked as he accompanied Nathanael to the darker side of the castle. "Or are you just trying to give them false hope?"

"There might be a way," Nathanael replied, but his usual giddiness was gone. He looked serious, troubled even, and gave Tom a quick glance. "But it's really painful. I don't know if they'll be able to handle it. I don't even know if it'll work. It... It might kill them."

Tom stared at Nathanael, who sighed heavily.

"Meaning?" Tom urged when Nathanael didn't continue.

"Meaning... I... I can't really explain it. The only one who knows how it's done is my father. He'll explain it to you."

They finally reached a large, crimson door with a silver sign saying 'Residence of Vlad Dragulius, vampira magika and royal status.' Nathanael bit his lip with a nervous expression and knocked the door twice. A few seconds later, the door opened, and an ugly, bald head peeked out. A short, crumb man gave them a suspicious look before he seemed to recognize Nathanael and immediately bowed.

"Young master Nathanius!" He exclaimed and opened the door fully. "Igor didn't realize it was you. It's been so long since Igor last saw you... Your father is sleeping. Should I wake him up?"

Nathanael walked into the room and Tom followed.

"No, you don't have you. I'll do it myself." Nathanael gave a wicked smile and walked further into the dark room. Tom watched him from behind. He didn't really want to behold how Dracula looked when he was asleep, and he opted to keep a safe distance. From what he'd heard, the vampire lord had a foul temper when awoken from his sleep.

"Father," Nathanael whispered softly into a black coffin at the back of the room. The coffin was surrounded by black candles that spread a soft, yellow light, and over the coffin was a large painting of Dracula when he was younger, dressed in a red robe with white fur in the edges. Nathanael knocked gently on the top of the coffin. Nothing happened. Nathanael sighed and turned to Igor, who flinched a little and rubbed his hands together in a nervous manner.

"How long has he been asleep?" He asked with a tense expression. Igor swallowed.

"O-only since yesterday, milord. I am afraid that he is very tired, sir."

Nathanael sighed and rubbed his forehead with an annoyed expression.

"Aaw man! I was afraid of that. Damn sleepy old man..." He muttered and turned back to the coffin while Tom watched him with a somewhat curious expression. The younger vampire bent down closer to the coffin and whispered something to it. It was so silently that not even Tom was able to hear it. Suddenly a loud thud was heard, and then Dracula stood before them, with his son's arm in a tight grasp and a furious expression. Nathanael, who grimaced in pain managed to smirk a little "Rise and shine, father."

"What have I told you about waking me up that way?" Dracula growled darkly and twisted his son's arm in a way that looked quite painful. Nathanael winced and squinted his eyes shut. Igor whimpered silently to himself, and Tom just stared at the bizarre, horrible scene before him.

"I'm sorry, father... We need your help," Nathanael panted and met his father's angry gaze. "It's urgent. And it has to do with Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter? Aah... Tom Riddle's mate," Dracula's interest seemed to awake and he let go of Nathanael's arm. Nathanael rubbed his sore limb and gave a sigh of relief. "What do you need?"

"My lord, would you like anything to dri-" Igor started but was silenced by a powerful glare of his master. Dracula turned to Tom, as if he hadn't noticed the man's presence until now. He smiled a cold smile.

"Tom."

"Vlad."

"What can I do you for?" Dracula took a seat on a black chair and yawned, flashing his fangs. He was dressed in a simple black button-up and black pants. "Igor, go fetch me a glass of Lion's," Dracula said, apparently ignoring the fact that Igor had just been about to ask. Igor nodded eagerly and scooted away to another corner of the large room. "Please, take a sit." Dracula gestured to two other chairs.

Nathanael and Tom took a seat and Igor came back with a can of blood and three glasses. When he was finished serving the three vampires, he pulled away to the corner behind Dracula, waiting for his master's next command. Dracula smirked and took a sip from his glass. Nathanael did the same and seemed to relax a bit.

"As I said; What do you want? It must be quite important if you actually felt the need to force me out of my slumber," he said and shot his son a dark look. Nathanael, obviously being used to his father's dark manners, only smirked playfully back.

"We were wondering if you know anything about turning humans into vampires," Tom started. "Humans that possess magic, but not the virus, that is."

Dracula took another sip from the Lion's blood and sighed, closing his eyes.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because there are currently three humans in this castle who wish to be turned. Two of them do not possess the vampiric virus." Nathanael explained with a bored expression and poured himself some more blood. Dracula stared at Tom.

"What foolishness. Humans? Here?"

"Foolish indeed," Tom drawled. "But never the less, it was the wish of my mate."

"Harry? Aah, let me guess," Dracula smirked. "The three humans were his best friends when he was still like them. And now he can't stand being without them." The old vampire lord chuckled darkly. "What weakness. How can you let your mate display such... humanity? To actually care for such low lives."

"Father!" Nathanael hissed and actually seemed a bit annoyed with the rudeness of his father. "It's more complicated than that!"

"Nathanius, you ought to know better than to speak like that to your father!" Dracula hissed and his voice was a little deranged with anger. "How, exactly, is it more complicated? I'm _dying_ to know." He took another sip.

"Harry is still young," Tom ground out. "It's only natural that he's not as beast-like as the rest of us yet." He managed to calm down and take a sip from his own glass. "He made a promise to two of them that he'd come back for them once they'd helped him to carry out the plan we had made for him."

"They helped him a lot, father," Nathanael said. "Without their help, Harry might've still be stuck in the human dimension."

"Hn," Dracula snorted. "So the mate of the mighty Tom Riddle needed the help of two mere humans? How pathetic."

Tom clenched his fists but managed to remain calm.

"One of these two possesses the vampiric virus, as his mother was bitten while she was pregnant. The other boy is his lover. They wish to be together."

"Together in eternity... How romantic," Dracula drawled sarcastically and watched the crimson fluids in his glass. "And the third one?"

"He... He was in fact Harry's best friend when Harry was still human," Nathanael replied carefully. "But apparently he has been treated very bad by his family since he also helped Harry back then. And when Harry discovered this, he couldn't stand to leave him there. Please understand, it was an honourable act, father!" Nathanael said, and sounded as if he really wanted his father to understand what he was saying. Dracula slowly raised his gaze to his son's and they seemed to fight a silent battle with each other.

"Harry's still human on the inside," Nathanael whispered, and Tom's eyes widened as he realized how hard Nathanael was fighting to protect Harry. Tom knew that Harry and Nathanael had, in some ways, become friends, but... Why was Nathanael suddenly so keen on this? Three humans really shouldn't mean that much to him. "It's only natural for him to still care."

"... You've always been a soft one," Dracula drawled, but seemed calmer. "You probably got it from your mother."

"Please, father," Nathanael asked. "Won't you help us?"

Dracula was silent for a good few minutes, and all Tom and Nathanael could do was to show patience and wait for his reply. Tom tried to read Dracula's mind, but it seemed that Dracula was skilled in shutting people out. Just like Tom himself was. Finally, Dracula sighed, as if he had just agreed to do something extremely unpleasant.

"I will help you. For my son's sake, and for old friendship's sake," he said, even though he had done nothing but to mock said son and said old friend up until that point. "There is indeed a way. It's been done before, and it worked. But it has also failed. You need to be extremely careful. I also recommend you hire some of the vampire's from the hospital in Tyrone. They're very skilled in this sort of thing."

"I hate the vampires from Tyrone," Nathanael muttered. "They're so damn cocky."

"Never the less you need their help," Dracula sighed and poured himself another glass of blood.

"How... How exactly will this be done?" Tom asked and even felt a slight tinge of worry in his black heart. If it in some way was to put Harry in danger, he wouldn't be able to agree to it. Dracula seemed to sense Tom's worry. He blinked slowly.

"Blood exchange."

"Excuse me?" Tom stared at the older vampire. Dracula sighed and put his glass down.

"Since these two humans do not possess the vampiric virus..." He smirked in a sad sort of way. "You'll just have to give it to them."

* * *

"What did you say?" Harry asked with a shaky voice. Tom closed his eyes. Harry was scared now, and he hated it when Harry was scared.

"I told you it'd be dangerous," Nathanael said softly and glanced to the closed door to their room. Behind it were the three human boys waiting.

"But..." Harry raked a hand through his hair and stared at his older mate. "Is there really no other way?"

"I'm sorry." Tom gave Harry a soft look. "This seems to be the only way."

"... Fine," Harry whispered and closed his eyes. He put his forehead to Tom's chest and Tom put a hand on the dark tussle of hair that inched closer to him. Tom realized that Harry wanted to be cradled, comforted. So Tom's arm automatically encircled Harry's shoulders and hugged his young mate closer. "If this is the only way, I'll endure it."

"Are you sure?" Tom wanted Harry to say no. He didn't want Harry to put himself in such danger.

"... Yes."

"Then let's go and explain it to them." Nathanael gestured to the door, and with a final heavy sigh, Harry left Tom's warm chest and walked towards the door. Tom clenched his jaw and followed him. This was indeed insanity.

"There is a way," Nathanael explained while Harry, in an exhausted manner, sunk down in a big chair near the bed, leaving the explanation-part to Nathanael. Tom watched Harry from the corner of his eye. Harry was indeed scared. Worried. But determined. And Tom felt angry with Harry for being so damn courageous. But also proud. This stupid, lovable boy. His mate. The idiot.

"The entire process of turning you into vampires will take a while. The first step... Is the most painful one." Nathanael gave them a stern look. "You must understand, that the first step is extremely painful. It might even kill you, but we'll try to decrease that chance by hiring special vampire-doctors from Tyrone."

"T-tyrone?" Blaise asked, and now even he looked pale.

"Our neighbour country. They are very skilled, and with their help, we'll try to make sure you won't die. Okay?" Nathanael tried to sound sure of himself, but the shudder in his voice didn't go unnoticed by Tom. This was indeed a dangerous matter.

"What," Ron started and Tom could see how the blood - which by the way smelled delicious - drained from his face. "What exactly will we be doing?"

Nathanael gave Ron a long stare. As if he was trying to read Ron's mind, but the redhead's mind was probably so blank right now, it was most likely impossible.

"Well, the first step is to give you two," he pointed to Draco and Ron, "the vampiric virus. This will be done by blood exchange. Blaise, you're damn lucky your mother was bitten while she was pregnant with you," Nathanael said and gave Blaise a glance. "You don't have to go through with this painful experience. The only ones who need to go through with this are Draco and Ron." The two mentioned boys swallowed loudly.

"Meaning," Nathanael continued. "Harry will give half of his blood to one of you, and I will give one of you half of my blood."

"You?" Harry suddenly sat up and gave Nathanael a surprised stare. "Why you? It's not like you have to."

Nathanael gave a small smile to Harry.

"Never mind why it's me, I'll tell you later. My father is a vampira magika, and even though I technically never had to awaken the virus in my body - since I was already a fully developed vampire when I was born - I still carry it in my body and can without problems transmit the virus to a human being."

"And... This will hurt?" Draco asked, sounding strangely calm, although they all could sense the panicked turmoil he was trying to hide. Nathanael turned his gaze to the floor.

"Yes. It's going to hurt... A lot."

* * *

"What is going on?" Harry asked as he and Nathanael walked through the long corridor. "Why do you want to do this? You already helped me out, seriously... You're too nice to be the son of Dracula," Harry said and even managed to smile to his own joke, despite the fact that they were all pretty depressed and worried at the moment. The three humans were sleeping in his and Tom's chamber, and Tom was away, talking to Trenton about inviting the vampire-doctors from Tyrone.

Nathanael smiled, too, and rubbed the side of his neck. He stopped and leaned against the wall. Harry quirked an eyebrow. This was weird behaviour. Nathanael acted so calm.

"I've already spoken to Tom about it. He wanted to do the exchange, but I said no. Partly because you will definitely need his support after the procedure, during your recovery. But also because... Um..." Nathanael turned his head to the side. Harry stared at the vampire prince.

"What? Just spit it out, already... You're freaking me out a little." He smirked playfully to Nathanael who smiled weakly back.

"You owe me one, remember?"

"Yes, but I don't see how this is going to make it up to you," Harry said, feeling even more confused. Nathanael smiled a sad smile.

Nathanael slowly raised his head to look at Harry.

"This is my one wish. The favour you owe me. I want to give half of my blood to Ronald Weasley." Harry blinked, feeling even more confused.

"Okay? I guess that's fine... I'll give my blood to Draco, no problem." He noticed how stiff Nathanael looked when he nodded. As if he was extremely nervous about something. "But... Would you mind telling me why?"

"I don't know," Nathanael said, looking quite confused himself. "I just feel like it's important that I give it to him."

Harry nodded. Whatever the cause might be, he didn't mind giving his blood to Draco, so there was no point in arguing.

They didn't say anything more, and when they drew near to the room, they noticed the door was open and that the lights were on. Harry's heart leaped and panic made its way through his system, convinced that some vampire had made its way into their room and started to gnaw on his friends. But when he reached it, Harry sighed with relief at the sight of his mate.

Ron, Draco and Blaise - all three of them looked quite sleepy - sat up in the large bed and stared at the three vampires. Tom eyed him and Nathanael for a few seconds, before giving Harry a weak smile.

"The doctors from Tyrone will arrive the day after tomorrow. Make sure you get as much sleep as possible before that. You'll need it."

tbc.

* * *

Holy cow, am I awesome or WHAT? ;) Haha.

What did you think? ^^ For the first time, we actually got to see some parts of the story from Tom's p.o.v. Pretty cool, eh? :D

**The most popular character of Possess Me, Here are the results:  
1st place: Tom Riddle/Voldemort. Congratulations to him! :D Seems like most of you guys adore him. (He got almost 50 % of the votes.)  
2nd place: Harry AND Nathanael. They got the exact same amount of votes. Thank you. ^^  
3rd place: Ron! And I'm really happy about that, cuz I think a lot of ppl underestimate him.  
4th place: Dracula, that sneaky bastard. ;)  
**  
Yeah, so... the next chapter will - as I'm sure you've all figured out by now - be filled with pain and misery, but also... Love and romance. I think the next chapter might become the most emotional and intensive chapter so far. I'll try to have it ready for you soon. Until then - REVIEW. Okay?

Thank you all so much! ^^

Review review review! :D Pleeeaaase review?


	22. Chapter 21, part one

I don't own Harry Potter, nor any of its characters.

I do own this piece of fiction, and any characters that may be involved that is not from the original books by JKR.

A/N: I'm back! :) Did you miss me? Cuz I sure as hell missed you! I missed you so much that I got fed up with waiting for my laptop to recieve its new hard drive, so I went and bought myself a brand new laptop! ^^ And it's awesome.  
I recommend you skim through the previous chapters really quickly, so you'll remember what's going on. (Even I had to do that.)

Oh, and I changed the previous chapter - the part where Nathan confides in Harry about his feelings for Ron. I didn't like that part at ALL. I know you all already know about it now, but I just couldn't leave it like that. It wasn't like Nathanael at all, and it... it just didn't turn out the way I visualized it. So... let's just pretend it never happened. ^^

In other words, let's pretend Harry suspects something, but doesn't really KNOW what's going on with Nathan. I honestly don't think that Nathan himself knows what's going on. He's never been in love, so how the hell is he supposed to know what it feels like? You know?  
I know it's unprofessional of me to change a chapter that's already been published, but... just, yuck! I had to change it. Hope you're cool with it. :) I think it'll be more interesting to see how things are going to turn out if people don't really know what's happening between the two of them. Oh, and in a near future, some of the chapters will be written from Ron and Nathanael's point of view. ^^ YAY!

Okay, so I just wanted to explain the situation. :) If you have any complaints, I'm willing to listen.

Here we go! :) Chapter 21, part one.

* * *

"Shouldn't they be here soon?" Draco sighed and continued to stare out the window. It was dark outside. As it always was. They had been waiting for the vampires from Tyrone for two days straight now. Even Harry, who felt extremely nervous about the whole ordeal, was bit bored with waiting.

"They should," Nathan agreed but didn't say anything else. The young prince was reading a thick book that he found in Tom's shelf. Harry was fairly sure that he wasn't actually reading it - his eyes weren't moving. Nathanael was probably in deep thoughts. Harry observed him for a few seconds before turning his gaze to the window.

Nathanael... Harry still wasn't sure as to why Nathanael was so keen on letting Ron have his blood. And when he had asked the vampire prince about it, even he seemed confused.

Harry moved his eyes to Ron, who sat by the fireplace and stared into the flames, as if he wished to be devoured by them. Harry blinked slowly. Was Ron really up for this? Did he want to become a vampire, or was he just trying to be rebellious? He watched as Ron suddenly lifted his hand in front of his face and stared at it. He bent his fingers, as if he had just discovered the limb he had had since he was born.

"Ron?" Harry went to sit next to his best friend. Ron stopped staring at his hand and turned to Harry with a pale smile.

"Hi, Harry."

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked and reached his hands out closer to the fire. The fire was so warm. Harry had gotten used to the cold, but since they hosted three humans, a fire was necessary.

Ron shrugged at Harry's question.

"I'm not sure." A nervous smile tugged at his lips. "I want this, but sometimes I stop to think, 'what if I don't really want to become a vampire... maybe this is just revenge for how mom and dad treated me...' I feel so immature. And once I've been turned, it's not like I'll ever be able to change my mind and say 'oops! Sorry, my bad... could I become a human again?'" The brown eyes were wide and the stared at Harry with an almost frightened expression. Harry wasn't sure what to say. So Ron had also suspected something like that? Harry sighed and patted Ron's shoulder.

"Maybe you'll regret it, but maybe it'll turn out to be the best thing that's ever happened to you. In any case, you'll still be Ronald Weasley."

"How do you know that... for sure?" Ron whispered and turned his eyes to the fire. Harry sighed and followed his gaze.

"You know, I was meant to become a vampire. I was born with the virus and all... But my parents chose to deny it, and pretended I was normal. They lied to me. But even though I started to hate the human world, the humans, Hogwarts... I couldn't hate you."

"What does that mean?" Ron stared confused at Harry.

"It mean that maybe you were meant to become a vampire as well. The last months at Hogwarts were hell to me. I hated Hermione, I hated Dumbledore... All the people I used to love. But you... Nothing changed with you. For some reason, the vampire in me liked you as much as I did when I was still human." Harry scoffed. What a weird thing to say. He smiled to Ron. "Am I making any sense?"

After a few seconds, Ron gave a shaky smile and nodded.

"Yeah... I think so. Thanks, Harry."

There was a knock on the door and a few seconds later it opened and a female vampire walked in.

"The vampires from Tyrone have arrived. They are waiting for you in Mater Trenton's workroom."

She curtsied and walked out. Everyone in the room was paralyzed for a minute, but then Blaise got to his feet and held his hand out to Draco, who suddenly looked extremely pale.

"Shall we go?"

Draco shuddered, and glanced at Blaise. Then he gave a shaky smile, nodded and took the offered hand. They left the room first, with Harry, Ron and Nathanael right behind them. Tom didn't follow them at once. He stared after his young mate as he departure the room with Ron. He didn't look afraid – more like the contrary.

The dark lord smiled a little. Sometimes, he hated how brave Harry was. Damn Gryffindor student…

* * *

"Ah, there you are!" Trenton said as they entered the room. He smiled at them, but Harry could see the small flinches in the corners of the elderly vampire's mouth. Apparently, the vampires from Tyrone weren't very liked.

Close to the fireplace, in which no fire was burning, three vampires stood. Harry shuddered. He was used to the cold – he was a vampire after all – but the aura that the three vampires spread was chilling on a whole other level.

Two of them were men, the third one was a woman. They didn't smile, they just stared at the soon-to-be patients. Draco swallowed audibly and inched closer to Blaise who put a comforting hand on the small of Draco's back.

"Pleased to meet you," Nathanael said, with the same false joy in his voice as there had been in Trenton's smile. "I am prince Nathanael, son of Vlad Dragulia."

"We know who you are, young prince," the woman said coldly. "Why don't you instead introduce us to those we do not know."

Nathanael made a small face of annoyance, but nodded all the same.

"Of course. This is Harry Potter, mate of Tom Riddle, Draco Malfoy, human, Blaise Zabini, human who possesses the vampiric virus and do not need to undergo the procedure, and Ronald Weasley, human."

Nathanael gestured to each one and turned back to the icy vampires. Their faces hadn't changed. A small glimmer of interest had appeared in their eyes upon hearing who Harry was, but it disappeared quickly.

"And where, may I ask, is the famous Tom Riddle?" One of the men asked. "I was hoped I could have a little… chat with him." A small smirk appeared on his face, and Harry frowned. He didn't like the way the man spoke about Tom.

"You'll get to meet him later, he's busy at the moment," Nathanael explained, probably noticing how stiff Harry looked.

"When will the procedure begin?" Ron suddenly asked and when Harry turned to look at him, he was again worried by the death in Ron's eyes. He was too serious. Was he hoping to die?

The three vampires turned to him and smirked.

"How much time do you think we have? We wouldn't have come here if it wasn't for Trenton's generous payment."

"Please, enough about that," Trenton sighed, as if he had wished to keep that part secret. "Just answer the boy's question, please."

The female vampire snorted and glared at Trenton a little before turning back to Ron.

"We begin now. Let us go to the sickroom. I presume you have one, yes?"

Trenton nodded tiredly.

"Good. We have to start preparations immediately."

tbc!

* * *

I'm sorry this chapter is so extremely short! I just felt really bad about being so late. I never find the time to write - college is a friggin pain in the A-hole.  
I just finished a huge pile of homework, we have a test tomorrow, and hopefully I'll pass. No worries though. I'll drop out after this semester. The program I chose was all wrong for me.

Anyways, I really hope I find more time to write soon! I mean, the story certainly isn't over.  
I just hope that this was enough to still your hunger for a little while. ^^

I'll be updating as soon as possible! (I'm sorta stressed out right now, I'm moving back home, going on a job interview, and blah blah… etc.)

Review? Even though the chapter's pathetically short, it's your reviews that make me want to continue! ^^


	23. Chapter 21, part two

I do not own Harry Potter.

I own the plot of this fic and any character that may be involved that is not from the original book by J.K.R.

Woah, I'm totally back! . Did'ya miss me? A LOT has happened. I'm currently busting my back to get my last projects finished and graded before I quit College. I only have a few weeks to get it done. I should be panicking, but I'm pretty sure It'll be alright. I'm pretty smart after all. And to all you sweet people who are trying to make me stay in school - don't worry! :) It's just that Film & Literature was the wrong program for me. I'll apply for another college next year. I want to study music instead. It's either that or becoming a librarian - my childhood dream! XD Haha.

And I got a job! :D Which I am absolutely thrilled about, since it's nearly impossible for a kid my age to get a decent job these days. I work in a... *drumroll* ... shoeshop! :'D Hahah, yay, go me! It's kinda boring actually, and my boss is pretty cranky, but it's stilla job. My older cousin is working with me, and he's kinda looking after me, so it's actually kinda nice. (And I only work like 16 hours a week... heh.)

So... heh, that was the quick update on my life! :)

Here's (finally) the next chapter! ^^ And from here on, things will turn quite interesting. The story almost starts over again. And it's not over yet.

This, my friends, is epic.

Dear readers, please enjoy, and forgive my delay.

* * *

Harry didn't like the way it felt to lay on the plain hospital bed. The metal was hard, and although the cold was no bother, he still preferred warmth. He didn't like the way it felt when the female's plastic covored hands roamed over his arms as she buried small tubes and needles in his skin. He didn't like the way it smelled. He didn't like the fact that Tom couldn't be there with him.

There was a lot of things that Harry didn't like about this, however, when he looked over to his left side he relaxed and convinced himself that this was all worth it. Draco stared back at him, pale and clammy and with wide eyes. Draco Malfoy was scared, anyone could see that. The lithe body was shaking a little, as if Draco was freezing. The blonde hair matched Draco's equally white face. But in his eyes, there were determination and strength. Draco wanted this. Harry shut his eyes after giving the blonde ex-slytherin a confident nod.

He turned to his right. Ron wasn't as pale as Draco, but the freckled on his cheeks stood out much more than usually from his skin. His tired eyes glanced to Harry and he gave a weak smile and a nod. Nathanael was on Ron's right. He looked quite calm. His dark hair was sticking to his forehead. The young prince was staring at the ceiling and seemed to refuse looking at anything else.

"You have to understand the risks with this," one of the male vampires said with an important face. "For the humans; taking this much vampireblood into your body all at once could be lethal. Vampireblood is aggressive and the changes it'll do to your body might be too sudden. You may not be able to take it. Also, even if you do manage to endure the extreme changes your body will undergo, you will still feel very sick and weak after this surgery. Do you understand this?"

Ron and Draco nodded stiffly. The male vampire scribbled something down on a paper and turned his stoneface to Harry instead.

"As for the vampires," he drawled and slowly let his gaze move to Nathanael who was still staring at the oh-so interesting ceiling. "Your blood is part of your personality. The minute you became a vampire - in Prince Nathanael's case, even from birth - the activated vampireblood started to change you. Form you, and develope a personality. This is especially escential for Harry Potter who was once a human."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry stared at the male vampire who observed him with a cold face. Was that a smirk on his lips?

"It means that you might feel strange when it's over. Strange in a psychological way. You'll probably take the physical damage a lot better than the humans, but... Your mentality might change. It's happened before."

Harry could feel how the small amount of blood he still had in his face drained.

"Like... what?"

"It could be anything from small, hardly noticable changes, to... schitzofrenia, amnesia... those sorts of things."

White noise buzzed in Harry's ears, and although the panic started rising he said nothing and joined Nathanael in staring at the dark ceiling. From his left he could hear Draco clear his throat a little.

"Potter... You sure about this?" Harry tore his gaze from the ceiling and met Draco's tired gaze. He suddenly noticed how very human Draco was. Dark shadows adorned the underside of his eyes, his frail skin was glistening with sweat and his lips were pale and dry. The drugs they were on at the moment were definitely starting to kick in. Harry was also starting to feel dizzy.

"Yeah," Harry said tiredly. It came out as a whisper, but still managed to sound stronger than Harry felt. He wasn't sure about it. At all. But he had already promised, and he had Tom. Whatever happened to him, Tom would make everything alright again. The thought of his older lover made him feel a bit stronger.

"Well then," the female vampire said and pushed some buttons on one of the machines next to Harry's bed. Her voice sounded more and more distant. "Let's begin."

* * *

_beep, beep, beep, beep..._

"His heart is unstable..."

beep, beep, beep, beep...

"... need to... more drugs..."

beep, beep, beep, beep...

"... human is spasming! Hurry! We need to..."

beep, beep, beep, beep....

"... This is bad..."

beep, beep, beep, beep,

beeeeeeep...

* * *

Harry woke up slowly. If he could smile, he would. They thought he was asleep, when in fact he had been listening to their conversation for the past ten minutes. But he was too tired to actually listen to what they said. He could hear mumbles, and one or two words he actually registered. Where was he anyways? Why was he so tired? Harry tried to open his eyes, but it was futile. All his energy was stolen by his lunges, as they insisted on continuing to breathe. It hurt a little.

"Harry?" Now that was something he recognized. It was his name. Harry forced his eyes open, although it made his head hurt like hell. A man was in front of him. He recognized him faintly, but couldn't place him. "How are you feeling?" His voice sounded stronger now. Harry could hear murmurs in the background from doctors speaking doc-talk and the beeping sound of the machine connected to his heart.

"I'm... fine?"

The man observed him closely and Harry had the feeling that this was the man's version of a worried frown; A blank stare. Where had he seen this before?

"You nearly died during the surgery."

A quick pang of panic surged through Harry, who quickly calmed down after this shocking news. He was too tired to get upset, and the fact that he was alive and well now meant that there was nothing to be worried about, right? He was fine, the surgery had went well, and everything was as it should be.

"But I'm here now," Harry said tiredly. He took a close look at the room. It was dark. The walls were made of stone. Harry laid on a metallic hospital bed. Tubes were stuck in his arm. He closed his eyes again and tried to think. There had been a surgery. He knew that much. And he knew that Ron had been involved. And Draco Malfoy. And... someone else? And what purpose had the operation served?

"Harry?"

Harry opened his eyes and stared at the older man. He had long, black hair, and strangely red eyes. Now they actually did look worried. Harry was dizzy. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with weak hands. They looked extremely white. Why was he so pale?

"You should eat," the older man said, and Harry gave him a curious look.

"Um... I'd prefer to wait for professor Dumbledore." He said with a polite smile. "Are you a new school nurse or something?"

"... Excuse me?" The man stared at him with white eyes and paled. "Doctors! Come here!" He called out to the doctors behind him and they gathered around Harry's bed. "There's something wrong with him..."

Harry stared at him, and suddenly realized that there was something wrong with this picture. He wasn't at Hogwarts anymore, was he? The room was too dark. He was starting to feel worried. Then he started to feel scared. Who were these people? He had seen them before, he knew he had. But who were they. Why were they there, and why was Harry there?

"Do you know your name?" The woman said and observed Harry closely as he answered with irritation.

"Yes, of course. I'm Harry Potter."

"And where are we?"

Harry stared at her with a frown. He hesitated.

"... At Hogwarts?"

The people surrounding his bed exchanged looks, but the darkhaired man only stared at Harry with stern eyes. Harry couldn't stand the way he looked at him. For some reason, he felt guilty. As if he had done something wrong.

"Harry," one of the unknown male doctors said and gestured to the darkhaired man. "Do you remember Tom?"

The darkhaired man looked at Harry in an almost painfully pleading way, although he was covering it up quite well. How come Harry could read him so well? After a few seconds, Harry shook his head nervously. A dreadful feeling that he had done something horribly bad went through him. The darkhaired man's jaws pulsated and he swallowed hard. Harry could see how hard he tried to hide how upset he was.

The woman sighed and rubbed her temple.

"Oh, good. The boy doesn't even remember the great Tom Riddle-"

"R-riddle?"

Harry suddenly felt very stiff and his gaze darted to the darkhaired man who was busy giving the woman a very dark glare. Then he turned back to Harry with a calm, almost cold look. As if he was bracing himself for something hard.

"... You're Voldemort?" Harry whispered. Then he passed out again.

tbc.

* * *

Ahaaahaha.... So yes, Harry has, after all these complicated, eventful chapters, FORGOTTEN all about his beloved Tom Riddle. What will happen with the two of them? And how are Draco and Ron feeling after the surgery? You'll find out in chapter 22! ;)

I know the chapter's short, but this was the second part of chapter 21, so... yeah. Got any complaints? I'm a busy woman! XD No really, I hope you're cool with it. :) I'll try to make chapter 22 longer.

Review, please?


	24. Chapter 22

I don't own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to JKR.

I do own the plot of this fic, its story, and any character that may be involved that is not from the original books/movies. Steal any of this, and I'll see to that you be punished.

Sorry for the extreme delay, friends. My life has been seriously messy. (I got fired from my job, solely because my boss didn't like me, like wtf!? And I recently broke up with my gf, plus I'm taking classes at the university, so I'm stressed out beyond belief!) I suggest you skim through the previous chapters real quick. ^^ I'm really sorry! I'm starting to feel a lot better, so hopefully I'll be able to update a little more often from now on.

(For those of you who read the Manga Naruto - check out my new fic "Be my shadow". ^^)

Warnings: the usual. Darkness, gayness, etc.  
(This chapter is not edited by my beta, and this is because it's friggin 5 in the morning and I've been working on this chapter for HOURS. Besides, I've made you wait long enough as it is. So please, do excuse potential errors.)

* * *

"He's forgotten everything?" Draco asked, bemused at this strange twist of events. "But... how?" He turned to Blaise, who sat next to his bed. Ron watched them from his own bed, a worried frown across his pale face. Nathanael stood before them with crossed arms and sighed. He had recovered much quicker than the rest of them.

"A vampire's blood is such an important part of their being. That's why it's so painful to turn humans - every spilled drop feels like hell. Harry is so new at this, and yet he gave almost half of his blood to Draco. All his memories have been withdrawn, and he's been pulled back to his human state of mind."

The room was silent for a while. Draco stared bitterly at his blanket and fisted the sheets.

"If I'd known it was so dangerous, I would never-"

"Don't say that," Blaise hushed and put his hand over Draco's clenched one. "Harry knew what he was doing. You never forced him."

"That's true," said Ron, voice hoarse from staying silent for too long. He was tired and leaned his head heavily against the pillows. Nathanael gave the weak still-human a quick glance. "Harry's strong. He'll get through this."

"It's not just him..." Draco muttered and gave a careful glance to the figure who sat next to the fireplace and stared into the flames. Tom still hadn't uttered a word since he got there. "Harry has... forgotten everything, hasn't he?" Draco gave Blaise a suffering look. "This must be hell for both of them."

"We'll just have to figure out a way to make him remember again," Ron whispered, still too tired to speak louder. "As I said, Harry's strong."

Nathanael sighed again and took a seat next to Ron's bed. The young vampire prince had a very concerned look on his features and his usually neatly combed hair was a bit ruffled.

"I don't know about that," he said finally and caught everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't see the look on his face when he realized what was going on. As far as Harry knows, Tom is still Lord Voldemort, and he has no memories of what they've been through together. He's terrified."

Heavy silence broke out again and the only sound that was heard was the crackle of fire. There was a knock on the door, and a young vampire girl walked into the room. She bowed before Tom before she spoke.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sire, but lord Harry Potter is still very upset. Master Trenton sent me here to get you." A few seconds of tense silence went by until Tom finally got up and turned to the girl with a cold glare.

"And what do you suppose I can do to make it better? Huh?" His expression changed into a darker, almost sad one. "The boy doesn't remember who I am. He thinks I'm out to kill him. I'll just make things worse if I show up."

The girl gave the older vampire a concerned look but wouldn't leave the room.

"Never the less, sir. Trenton wants you there. I think..." She swallowed, obviously nervous to be around the famous Tom Riddle. "I think young master Potter remembers you, deep down. He needs your help. Are you really going to abandon your own partner because of this?" Her words were confident, like a mother scorning her child, even though they changed into whispers at the end. Tom didn't answer at first, but leaned against the fireplace and stared bitterly at the dancing fire.

Then he grabbed his cloak and threw it around his shoulders. Without another word, he exited the room.

The rest of them stared at the closed door. Draco and Blaise exchanged worried looks, but Ron smiled contently to himself.

* * *

"Don't come any closer!" Harry yelled and tried to crawl away from Trenton, which proved to be difficult since he was still in his bed, while the vampire merely reached his hand out in an attempt to calm the boy down. "What have you done to me? Where's Dumbledore?" The normally calm eyes were wide and slightly panicked, while there was also a streak of courage in them.

"Dumbledore..." Trenton sighed and rubbed the area between his eyes. "You left him behind, remember? You wanted to leave Hogwarts. Jesus, don't you remember anything?" The elderly vampire was starting to sound annoyed with the upset teenager. Harry shook his head in disbelief.

"You expect me to believe that? You're Voldemort's subordinate, aren't you? Why don't you just kill me?!" Without realizing it, Harry's anger had activated his fangs, and now he flashed them to Trenton in a natural attempt to scare him off. As he realized what he was doing, Harry's expression changed from angry and frightened, to shocked. Trenton watched as his pink tongue slid over his teeth, and the boy gave gasp of panic when he realized how sharp his canines had become. "Oh God... What the fuck have you done to me!?" Trenton gave the fitting boy a look of utmost pity, and then Tom entered the room. Hell broke loose.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Harry threw a pillow against the man who was in fact his lover, while his other hand desperately sought for his wand. "Where... Where's my wand?!"

"Calm down, Harry," Tom said and gave his lover a suffering look. "I know this is a shock to you. But this is the truth. Everything we have told you is true." He slowly walked up to the bed where Harry was seated, staring wildly at Tom, while shaking his head. He was trembling, too.

"Get the fuck away, you murderer," Harry hissed and once again flashed his fangs without meaning to do so. Tom lowered his gaze to the floor but didn't stop walking towards Harry. Finally, he was seated at the bottom of the mattress, while Harry had scooted as far against his remaining pillows as possible.

"Tell me what you remember."

"Fuck you."

Tom met Harry's angry gaze again, and decided to go for another strategy. His eyes grew colder and a sly smirk suddenly adorned his beautiful features. Harry swallowed nervously.

"That's not very polite, is it? Now, I'm going to ask you once more. What do you recall? How do you think we ended up here? Why was there a surgery?" He smirk was evil as he glowered to Harry, who had started breathing rather quickly. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to kill your friend. Ronald Weasley is here, too, you know. As my _prisoner_."

Harry's lips trembled with fear and anger and his pale fingers gripped his sheets so tightly he almost ripped them.

"I..." Harry's gaze suddenly got confused. As if he was shocked with how little he remembered, or rather, shocked with the things he did remember. "I remember... Dumbledore trying to stop you from taking me."

Oh well, Tom thought. That was almost correct. Dumbledore had actually tried to prevent Harry from leaving.

"Go on."

"I remember... Cloaks... And blood... uhm," Harry blushed and turned his gaze away. "I remember certain things. But I... You probably tempered with my memory. Why should I believe any of this? I can't trust anyone."

Tom stared sternly at him for a few seconds before leaning a bit closer. Harry tried scooting away, but it was futile. Tom lips were millimeters from caressing the trembling teen's ear.

"Listen to me, Harry," he said, still stern, but there was a hint of pleading in his voice. "You will realize, eventually, that this _is_ happening and that we're not the ones you should direct your anger towards." He got up from the bed and started walking towards the door. Trenton put a hand on his shoulder before he had the time to leave.

"The boy is still not convinced," he said, sounding tired. "This was a bad idea. What if he never remembers?" As soon as he had uttered the words, he realized he had made a mistake. Tom glared dangerously at him.

"He will remember, because he is mine." He shrugged Trenton off and reached for the door knob. "Send a guard here to watch over him. Keep me updated." He turned to Trenton with a serious look. "Harry will get hungry soon. When that happens, let me know immediately."

* * *

"How is he?" Nathanael asked when Tom returned. Ron and Draco had gone back to sleep, while Blaise was also starting to nod off, despite doing his best to stay awake and watch over the blonde boy. Tom didn't reply at first, but gave Nathanael a tired glance.

"On the verge of breaking," Tom admitted and sat down on the sofa in front of the fire. Nathanael also took a seat. "He only remember bits and parts... But he thinks that I tempered with his memory. He won't trust any of us. I had to threaten to kill the redhead over there to make him speak to me," Tom sighed and gestured to the sleeping Ron.

"He'll come around," Nathanael said, noticing the suffering tone in Tom's voice. "It's like Ronald said - he's strong." Tom nodded slowly. It was sickening, this worry. Harry was his lover, his very meaning. If Harry never regained his memory, what would happen? Would he slowly accept fact, or would he live in denial? Would Tom have to seduce him all over again? He didn't have the energy for that. And Harry didn't seem to be in the same state of mind as he had been when Tom started to seduce him the first time. The dark lord sighed and rubbed his temples. Stupid, brave boy. If it hadn't been for his promise to those humans, none of this would've happened. He should be furious with them. But as things were, he was too worried to feel anything.

They sat in silence for a long time. Thinking. Sometimes making sure the humans were doing alright. Draco was tightly clutching onto Blaise's hand, but both of them were sound asleep. Ron was pale and sweaty, but didn't seem to be in pain, so Tom and Nathanael assumed he was fine.

After two whole hours of nervous waiting, pacing, sighing and silent cursing, a soft knock was heard. Tom stilled in mid-pace in front of the fireplace and stared, bewildered, towards the door as Nathanael went to open it. Trenton walked in with a tired expression.

"I might have a solution," he stated and took a seat on the couch next to Tom with a heavy sigh. "You really ought to be grateful," he said to Tom who merely quirked an eyebrow. Trenton gave an amused snort. "You can pretend to be completely unfazed, young one, but you can't fool me. I know you're worried."

Tom's lips tensed and the red eyes narrowed.

"Of course I'm worried," he said quietly. "And your solution?"

"_Potential_ solution," Trenton corrected before continuing. "... I have spoken to Saray, and she says that _they_ are willing to speak with you."

"They..? You can't possibly mean... The oracle sisters?" Nathanael looked beyond shocked. Tom's eyes had also gone wide. "They never agree to talk to the rest of us! They live in our castle, yet I haven't seen either one of them in over two years!"

Trenton nodded and scratched his small stub.

"It wasn't cheap. I had to promise them I'd get them three bottles of human blood, and you know how expensive that is nowadays... Unless you do it the illegal way," Trenton chuckled, but remained serious and tired. "But yes. The sisters are willing to speak to you, Tom. And this is only because they have a refined interest in you. Tom Riddle, the young magician who turned into a vampire. The first one in centuries. And now your mate is Harry Potter." Trenton smiled. "You're lucky to be so damn interesting."

Tom relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath.

"When?"

"Right now. The sisters are going to slumber for three weeks afterwards, so you can't waste time."

Tom nodded stiffly and quickly tied his hair up. He left the room, staring straight ahead with a stoic expression. He had only heard stories about the oracle sisters. Apparently they were Scandinavian, and even older than Trenton. The older one was said to see fortunate things in her visions, while the younger one usually saw unfortunate events. If Tom spoke to them, they might be able to tell him what to do with Harry. Tom's jaw clenched tighter. But what if they weren't able to see anything?

"Tom!" Nathanael caught up to him and was firmly ignored by Tom who continued with long steps. "You remember which floor they stay at, right?"

"Fifth," Tom said without a blink of hesitation. Nathanael nodded and stopped in his tracks, watching Tom disappear.

"Good luck," the young vampire prince murmured with a worried frown.

* * *

"You are eight minutes late," Saray, the bald woman who guarded the sisters' room, said sternly to Tom as he finally arrived. She waited for him to say something, maybe at least get an apology, but as the silent seconds went by one after one, she merely sighed. "Whatever. You have half an hour. After that, the sisters are going to sleep for three weeks. Lately, they've been having extremely vivid visions, and their minds are exhausted."

Tom nodded and turned to the crimson door. There was an odd, but not unpleasant, scent lingering just outside the closed doors. Vanilla. And perhaps cinnamon. He gave three firm knocks and opened the doors before walking inside.

The room was dark, but not darker than he was used to. In the back was two huge beds with red sheets and rose petals strewn across the covers. Dozens of lit candles spread a dim, golden light throughout the room, and the scent of vanilla and cinnamon was much stronger inside. Tom realized it was incense.

Finally, he turned to the black couch in the middle of the room. Two women was seated on it, both sitting in an extremely proper manner, with the feet placed slanted on the floor, and pale hands resting on their knees. One of them was slightly taller, and had blonde, almost white, curly hair flowing over her shoulders and chest. The shorter one had pitch black, straight hair, elegantly tied behind her ears. Both were dressed in very extravagant dresses.

"Tom Riddle," the taller, and presumably older one, said silently without looking directly at Tom, who gave a bow of respect. "You are troubled."

Tom stared at the floor for a few seconds before replying.

"... Yes."

"Me and my sister will try to help you," the shorter one said. "I am the younger sister, Annah. I see unfortunate futures."

"I am the older sister, Evah. I see fortunate futures. You may rise."

Tom did as he was told and when Annah stretched out her delicate, white hand to gesture towards a thin chair next to Tom, he took a seat, waiting for the sisters to see. Evah suddenly directed her ice-blue gaze at Tom, and without breaking eye contact, she stretched her arm towards the small coffee table in front of her. She picked up a long, thin pipe and brought it to her mouth. Pretty soon, a large cloud of light purple smoke emitted from her crimson lips. The smoke danced in the air, and Evah averted her stare from Tom, to the smoke.

She stared at it with an almost concentrated frown for almost a minute, and then she let out a shaky breath, as if she had been holding it. Then she smiled to Tom. But she didn't say anything. Instead, she gave the pipe to her younger sister, who did the same thing as Evah had done. After Annah was done, and had taken on a much more serious expression, they turned to Tom. Annah opened her mouth first.

"Young Harry Potter's memories have been locked away, and now refuses to acknowledge his new identity as a vampire, and Tom Riddle's lover."

Evah continued where her sister had left off.

"The reason for this misfortune was because Harry Potter is noble and honest, and sacrificed himself for the sake of his allies. But Tom Riddle will be able to bring his memories back."

Tom felt as if a stone the size of Trenton had been lifted off his shoulders, and was about to thank the sisters, but Annah continued. Their vision wasn't over.

"The key to unlock the memories is not easily obtained, as the task Tom Riddle must perform is going to be mentally painful for Harry Potter."

"But once the key has been obtained, Tom Riddle will be able to close Harry Potter's wounds."

Tom stared at the sisters, one who was smiling mysteriously to him, while the other merely gave him a stern stare. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. The vanilla scented air was heavy and the vampire lord could feel himself go a bit drowsy.

"And... How do I bring Harry's memories back?"

The sisters got up from the couch and slowly walked up to Tom who remained seated on the thin chair. Annah bent down and put her slim hand against Tom's jaw, before laying her lips close to Tom's ear.

"Force." The whispered word was silent and cold. Something that simply needed to be done. That was all she was going to give him, apparently, as she didn't say anything more. But then Evah bent down just as Annah had done.

"Intimacy," she purred the word with delight, before she, too, went back to the couch and resumed their previous positions. Tom stared at them, as they were both smiling smugly to him. What did they mean?

"This is all we can do," the sisters said in unison. "Use your intellect wisely and you shall have your mate back." After that, they promptly closed their eyes, clarifying that the conversation was definitely over and that Tom wouldn't get anymore than that. Tom got up from the chair and gave another bow.

"Thank you, oracles," he said before he left the room, frowning. What the hell was that supposed to mean?"

* * *

"Force and intimacy?" Nathanael scratched his head with a confused frown. "I don't understand. Sounds like they want you to rape him."

"Who's gonna rape who?" Ron exclaimed, suddenly wide awake. "If you do that to Harry, I'm gonna-" Ron's face went green and two seconds later, he had buried his head in the bucket next to his bed, emptying the contents of his stomach. Nathanael gave the puking redhead a pitying look before turning back to Tom.

"What do you think?"

"Well, I don't think they want me to rape him," Tom said and quirked an eyebrow to Nathanael, as if pointing out what a ridiculous suggestion it was. "They said that the first thing I needed to do was something mentally painful for Harry. The intimate part comes after that."

"Ugh, what's that disgusting smell?" Draco, still looking sleepy, muttered as he struggled to sit up in his bed. Blaise was quickly by his side and helped him, as well as gesturing to Ronald, who was currently breathing heavily, trying to prevent his body from rejecting anymore bile. Draco paled and suddenly looked just as sick as Ron. He grabbed Blaise. "Quick! Gimme a bucket!"

Tom and Nathanael opted to leave the room while the teens continued throwing up violently. Nathanael frowned a little.

"Well, they did us that they would feel sick after the surgery... So anyways, what do you think?"

"I think..." Tom started and leaned against the wall, letting moonlight shine across his handsome face. "That the first stage is forcefully making Harry drink blood. He's going to hate me for it, but if he doesn't eat soon, he's going to die."

"Not die," Nathanael pointed out. "Vampires don't die, but his body will definitely shut down. So yeah, Harry need to eat. Considering the amount of blood he lost..."

"But I don't know if it's MY blood he needs to eat, or if any blood is good enough."

Nathanael hummed and leaned to the wall, next to Tom. The previous sense of hopelessness somehow lifted and disappeared. Inspiration brimmed and Nathanael turned to Tom with a shrug.

"If it were me, I'd say your blood would do the trick. I mean, your blood was the first he drank. That should help making him remember, right?"

Tom nodded slowly. It actually made sense. And the fact that Nathanael made sense gave him a headache.

"Probably. And since Harry refuses to acknowledge the fact that he's a vampire, I probably won't be able to make him feed directly from me. How troublesome," Tom sighed and rubbed his forehead. Nathanael gave a teasing smirk.

"Aw, come on! Where's your spirit? Look, the sisters _said_ you'd be able to bring him back, right? We'll just have to drain ya!"

"You mean pouring my blood into a bottle and making him drink it?"

"Yep," Nathanael said, confidence shining from his eyes. He pushed away from the wall. "Since he IS your mate, after all, your blood should be like a drug to him. And once he's high enough on your blood... well, you'll know what to do." He grinned to his frowning almost-friend. Tom nodded.

"You're right." He turned to a young vampire girl who was partly hidden in shadows a few feet away. "You! Go fetch me a bottle."

* * *

Harry felt sick. And weak. The room was locked from the outside. Vampires were outside, guarding him. The night seemed to last forever. Harry's sense of time must have been fucked up in some way, because despite forcing himself to stay awake for several hours, the sun just wouldn't rise. Harry had hoped he could make a run for it as soon as the sun was up. Vampires couldn't stand sunlight, could they? The dark-haired teen dragged his tongue over his teeth. He closed his green eyes with a shudder as they reached his canines. They were sharper than usual.

But it couldn't be true! It just couldn't.

Harry resumed staring out his narrow window, waiting for the sun to rise. It had to rise SOME time, right? As if stressing the fact that Harry was in a real pinch, his stomach gave away a loud growl. He was hungry. Fuck it all. Harry gave a dry sob and hid his face in his hands. It was hopeless. Where was Dumbledore? Why hadn't someone saved him yet? Where was Hermione? And Ron? Was he alright? What had Voldemort done to him? Harry didn't want to think about it.

Suddenly, the door went open with a loud creak. Harry flew up from his bed and tried to look stronger than he felt. When Voldemort walked into the room with a deadly calm expression, Harry backed away before he could help himself. Voldemort merely stared at him. Harry felt dizzy and badly wanted to go to sleep, but he couldn't. Not now.

"W-what do you want? Are you trying to fool me again? Cuz it's not gonna work!"

Voldemort shook his head, looking tired, and gave a sigh. Harry blinked but didn't scowling. He had never seen Voldemort behave this way. Then again, he hadn't seen that much of Voldemort. He just didn't imagine the killer of his parents to be so... non-violent. Every time Voldemort had visited him since Harry had woken up from that weird surgery, which Harry still was confused about, he had made no move what so ever to kill Harry, or even hurt him.

"You're hungry," Voldemort stated and gave Harry a stern look. Harry flinched and backed away another step, silently cursing.

"D-don't think you know things about me-"

The sound of a bottle losing its' cork echoed throughout the room, and Harry stopped mid-speech. His eyes went wide and a strange, warm feeling washed over him as his pupils went larger with desire. The scent. That scent! Harry knew that scent! Before he could help himself, he had already inhaled deeply, and felt his mouth go watery. He swallowed hard and tried suppressing the shudders going through his body.

Voldemort extended a hand to Harry, and in that hand was a small bottle. The content was dark and rich and thick, and... Harry shook his head as it started going foggy.

"Put it away," he growled, feeling his fangs extending in hunger. "I don't want it!"

"It's not human blood," Voldemort said calmly, and made no move to get closer to Harry. "It's not even animal blood. It's my blood."

Harry's eyes went wide.

"Y-your blood..? But why would you..." The teen looked genuinely confused for a moment, before reclaiming his angry scowl. "Let me guess. If I drink your blood, I'll simply fall for anything you tell me, huh? Well I'm not that stupid!"

"Are you sure?" A hint of a smirk was evident on Voldemort's voice. "I can hear your stomach screaming for it from all the way over here."

"Shut up."

"You'll feel better after you've had something to eat."

"I'm not going to drink blood! I'm not some fucking blood-sucker!"

"That's exactly what you are!" Voldemort suddenly sounded angry, his red orbs glowing towards Harry. "And if you don't eat, things will go bad!"

Three seconds of shocked silence went by before Harry, who was tearing up a little, both from being yelled at by the man he hated the most, and from hunger.

"I'd rather die than drink that shit," Harry whispered with a sneer. Voldemort stood perfectly still for a moment, and then he sighed with frustration.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this... But they did say I had to use force..."

"F-force? What are you- HEY! Get away from me, asshole!" Harry stretched his arms out in a futile attempt to protect himself as Voldemort suddenly walked up to him. Harry felt as if his heart was going to stop when Voldemort suddenly grabbed him and threw him down on the bed. Harry struggled and tried punching the older man, automatically searching for his wand which had been taken away from him. Sobbing with anger, he glared fiercely at Voldemort, who easily held Harry down with one hand. Harry watched the small bottle in Voldemort's hand slowly make its' way to his mouth and Harry desperately tried shaking his head.

He didn't want to drink it. Not only because it was blood, but also because it was Voldemort's! Everything was so fucked up. And Harry could feel himself get weaker with every second. That wonderful, dangerous scent filled his nose every time he breathed in, and tears flowed from his eyes. What was going on? Voldemort growled above him.

"Stay still!" The older man suddenly straddled him, and Harry's breathing fastened with panic. He was trapped, and his body was too weak to fight the older one off. "Stay still," Voldemort repeated, suddenly sounding a lot more tender. Harry cracked one eye open. Maybe he was too weak to think straight, but if he didn't know any better, he'd say Voldemort looked... concerned.

Harry surrendered. Thoughts of hopelessness filled his head. Dumbledore was probably on his way, but he would be too late. He'd never get to see Hermione again. He'd never become an auror. He'd never...

The bottle touched his lips, and Voldemort slowly tipped it, making the blood spill into Harry's mouth.

Oh. That taste. That... Taste!

Harry's eyes flew wide open, and his body gave a violent shudder as he opened his mouth wider, taking in as much of the crimson fluid as he could. An explosion of white and red went off in his head, and Harry closed his eyes in delight. He swallowed and couldn't believe the feeling of fire flowing out in his chilled body. Energy filled him and he took more of the blood into his mouth. Flashes, memories went by. There was a snake and a knife and Hermione was extremely annoying, and there were cigarettes and Draco Malfoy...

The bottle was empty. Harry panted and stared at Voldemort, bewildered at what was going on. Voldemort gave an extremely brief smirk and then revealed his neck. He carefully got off Harry, and instead took a seat next to the confused boy. With sharp nails, Voldemort cracked open a hole in the fine skin. Harry stared at the droplets of blood that seeped out.

"You can take as much as you like," Voldemort said and pulled Harry into a sitting position, more or less forcing Harry to put his mouth against the pale neck. Harry opened his mouth and let his tongue slide over the bruised skin, tasting more of the coppery goodness. He thought he felt Voldemort give a short tremble, but he didn't have time to think about that. Mentally cutting off his restraints, Harry's fangs dug deep into Voldemort's neck, and the clutches on Harry's sides tightened for a second.

More flashes of events flowed into Harry's mind. He suddenly felt angry with Dumbledore, for reasons he couldn't quite explain just yet. And suddenly, being embraced by Voldemort started feeling less and less frightening. In fact, being embraced by Voldemort started feeling... rather good. Harry gripped the black, shiny hair and inhaled the scent, still gulping down the warm blood.

"Harry..." Voldemort suddenly breathed against his neck, and Harry shuddered. Before he knew what he was doing, he pressed himself closer to Voldemort, crawling into the older man's lap. Harry was overwhelmed. What was going on? Why did he feel like this? Why did he feel like if he let go of Voldemort, he'd die?

Voldemort's hands travelled to the small of Harry's back, his hips, his lower areas, and Harry moaned. He didn't care anymore. Leaning into those delightful hands, Harry suddenly stopped drinking. Instead he started lapping at the wounds he had caused. He felt a nose being buried into his neck and he sighed with pleasure. Voldemort started pushing him back on the bed, and Harry didn't fight him off. Why didn't he fight him off? He had his chance now. He felt the energy fill his body with warmth and strength, but... he couldn't for the life of him let go of Voldemort.

Voldemort started kissing his neck and Harry could feel his eyes roll back. His mind went blank and warm and he spread his legs, letting Voldemort in between them.

"Haah..." Harry sighed as Voldemort quickly removed the fabric that kept them apart. Harry wasn't sure, but he was pretty sure that the older man had ripped the clothes to shreds. Smiling slightly to himself, in his dizzy state, Harry somehow know that Voldemort couldn't be bothered with troublesome clothes at the moment.

And then he moaned loudly again and dug his fingernails into Voldemort's back. Skin slid against skin and Harry felt like weeping. It felt as if he had been sleeping in a pile of snow for the past few days, and was now suddenly brought into a hot bath.

"Oh god..." Harry whispered and clung to Voldemort as fingers prodded his entrance. Blushing fiercely, Harry didn't fight. He knew things were starting to come together. He knew he was close to something. Something important. He whimpered as long, skilled fingers stretched him, but the lips caressing his neck helped him endure the slight pain he felt. And then suddenly Voldemort's lips were upon his own, tongue diving into Harry's mouth, exploring and tasting, as if he was starved. Harry closed his eyes as a wave of passion came over him and he eagerly responded to the kiss.

Fingers were replaced by something much bigger, and even though Harry's eyes watered a little from the pain, he smiled at the feeling of being filled.

"... Tom," he whimpered and closed his eyes as Tom started going in and out of him, still holding Harry close to him, gently, as if Harry would break. Harry hugged the older man closer. "Tom..."

Memories came back to him. And Harry gasped.

_... "Would you like to become my mate?"_

_... "If you really loved master Tom, you would not give up so easily!"_

_... "Don't worry Harry, the vampire dimension is a pleasurable place."_

_... "I know I'm daft sometimes... an annoying best friend..."_

_... "You are my partner. My Lover. That is who you are. Do not forget that."_

Harry could feel the tears flow from his eyes. He gave a brief sob and buried his face into Tom's neck and inhaled his lover's scent. His hips gradually started meeting the heated thrusts and soon he moaned out loud. God, it felt good. Harry panted heavily and planted his lips upon Tom's again, moving them almost desperately. He had not been able to kiss Tom for several days. Harry felt starved.

"Harry..." Tom sighed against his lips and Harry groaned with pleasure as Tom hit _that _spot straight on. His body quivered, as if it was shocked from the sudden amount of pleasure.

"Tom... I-I'm... Sorry... Ahh!" His weeping member was suddenly grasped and firmly massaged, and Harry almost lost his breath. It was ungodly good.

"For what?" Tom whispered and licked Harry's neck. The younger vampire moaned before answering.

"F-for... forgetting..!"

Tom smiled against his skin. Harry could feel it. An especially hard thrust made Harry see white for three seconds before emptying himself over his stomach with a hoarse yell. Tom followed him into the fog of ecstasy mere seconds after. His body hummed with pleasure and satisfaction as they lay there, spent, panting and covered with a thin sheet of sweat. Tom's hair had gone slightly damp and clung to Harry's skin. It tickled when Tom lift himself up so that they could look at each other. Gazes met, and in an almost confused fashion, Harry raised his hand and caressed Tom's face.

"How could I forget..?" Harry whispered and gave an upset frown as it dawned on him that he had actually forgotten all about the very person who had saved him from everything. The man he loved and adored and craved with every fiber of his being. Tom bent down slightly and caught Harry's trembling lips in a kiss.

"It's in the past," Tom whispered. "Don't think about it. You're back now. That's all that matters."

Harry stared at his mate for a few seconds before giving a grin and flashed his pointy canines. Tom did the same.

"Yes. I'm back. Did you miss me?"

Tom blinked and bent down for another kiss. Then he sighed and shut his eyes before pressing his forehead against Harry's. Harry closed his eyes as well and breathed in the scent of Tom. It made him dizzy.

"More than you can imagine."

* * *

Ronald Weasley was starting to wonder what the hell he had gotten himself into. He had thankfully stopped throwing up a little while ago, and although it seemed as if his body was finally starting to come to terms with the changes he had forced upon it, he still felt weak. He wasn't even able to sit up. And while he tried getting some sleep, he tried ignoring the cuddling couple to his left, as Draco demanded that Blaise shared his bed from then on. He was also rather worried about Harry. It had been several hours since Vol- Tom had left them. What if Tom had actually raped Harry?

Ron didn't want to think about it.

"Ronald?" Someone said, but Ron was too tired to open his eyes. "Are you okay?" Ron was fairly sure it was Nathanael, the vampire who had given him blood. Ron tried to nod, but it failed, as his neck wouldn't obey him. He heard Nathanael scoff with amusement. "Come on, I'll help you sit up."

Why? Ron wanted to sleep. He didn't want to sit up. He finally managed to crack an eye open. Nathanael smiled to him and Ron tried glaring in return. He wanted to sleep, damnit!

"I have food here! Human food, that is. You're not a vampire yet, after all," Nathanael sniggered and Ron sighed as he allowed Nathanael to pull him up. He opened his eyes and stared at the bowl of soup that Nathanael gave him. It was red, and Ron sniffed suspiciously on it. Nathanael gave a short laugh.

"It's tomato soup! I guarantee it's not blood. Why would we waste precious blood on people who doesn't even like to eat it?"

"You've got a point," Ron said hoarsely. He grabbed the spoon that was placed in the soup and tried bringing it to his mouth, but his hand shook so much that half the content of the spoon spilled onto his sheets.

"Oh, jeez," Nathanael sighed before taking both the bowl and the spoon back from Ron. "You're completely helpless." He filled the spoon with soup again and carefully brought it to Ron's mouth. Ron was so surprised at first that he didn't realize that he needed to open his mouth in order to eat. Nathanael quirked an eyebrow. "Say 'ah'?"

Ron flinched and immediately opened his mouth, embarrassed by the current situation. The soup was warm and actually quite tasty, although Ron was no fan of tomatoes. After five or six spoons of soup, Ron was full.

"I can't eat anymore," he murmured tiredly. Nathanael sighed.

"I know it's difficult, and you'll probably throw this up later, but the nurses said it was important for you to eat."

"I'm full," Ron protested but pretty soon another spoon of soup was forcefully shoved into his mouth. Ron sputtered and coughed before glaring at Nathanael who gave a brief laugh.

"Sorry," Nathanael chuckled and brought a napkin out of his pocket. He carefully wiped Ron's mouth and all of a sudden, a wave of warmth emitted from Nathanael's fingertips, into Ron's clammy skin. Ron stared at the young vampire, who stilled in his movements and stared back, equally bemused.

Then suddenly, the door went up and the two were snapped out of their confused haze. They all turned to the open door and Ron gave a sigh of relief as Harry walked into the room with Tom behind him. Nathanael got up from Ron's bed with a grin. Harry's cheeks were rosy and the green eyes were alert and aware. Tom looked equally healthy and content.

"I know you're all tired," Harry said and nodded to Draco and Ron. "But I just wanted to tell you that I'm all better now. Sorry if I worried you. We're going to sleep in our own bedroom now," he said and gestured to Tom. "Just... Wanted to say good night."

"You remember everything now?" Ron grinned, happy for his best friend. Harry nodded and grinned back, flashing his fangs. Ron caught himself staring at the sharp canines before quickly turning away from them. "I'm glad for you, mate." Draco agreed and they chatted for another minute about how sick they had been just a few hours ago, and Nathanael joked about the tomato soup, before Harry and Tom finally left.

Nathanael also decided to go to bed, and Ron felt relieved. Blaise and Draco fell asleep quite quickly, while Ron lay awake for another few minutes. Thinking. It was overwhelming. He would never be able to go back to being human. Not that he wanted to.

Ron slowly let his tongue slide over his teeth. His canines were still short, smooth and very human. He sighed and rolled over to his side. He closed his eyes.

"Hurry up and become immortal... Being human is boring," he murmured to himself with a small smile.

TBC.

_

* * *

  
Hope you enjoyed! ^^REVIEW, God damnit!! ;)_


	25. Chapter 23

I don't own Harry Potter. Like, for real. JKR own everything.

I do own characters and certain terms that are not from the original books/movies. (such as Trenton, and "Vampira Magika". If anyone wants to use any of my ideas in their fics, that's perfectly alright, but make sure to tell me if you do, or I'll probably assume that you've stolen from me. Copying my ideas without disclaiming in A/N is a crime.)

Warnings: the usual (slash, darkness, crude language, Ciiah's bad sense of humour, etc.)

A/N: God, I'm so sorry for always making you guys wait so long! I'm sure some of you are noticing that the quality of my chapters is slipping. This is because I'm a university student with very little free time on my hands. At the same time I'm desperately trying to find a decent job. I'm also working on two other fics, and I seriously need to update "Sweet and troublesome", cuz I haven't updated that one since january! I feel SO bad, you have no idea! I love writing more than anything, but with everything that's going on, I don't know if I can maintain my previous way of writing due the huge amount of stress. I know I can do better. Please bear with me. And do review, even if you thought the chapter sucked. I could probably use a good kick in the butt to get serious.

* * *

"Ow. Ow.... Ow... Blaise, I said OW!" Draco snarled and slapped the darker teen on the arm with an irritated face before turning to the wall, bracing himself with trembling palms, panting exhaustedly. Blaise frowned with equal amount of annoyance and put his hands on his hips, having mercy on the blonde, allowing him to have a breather. Draco hadn't been out of bed in almost two weeks, but he was apparently still weak.

"Well, I'm sorry, but if you don't start walking soon, you're never going to heal. And you need to be healthy before getting turned."

"I know!" Was the frustrated reply and Draco turned his glare to the floor. Blaise's stern expression softened and he put his hand on Draco's clammy shoulder, sliding strong fingers up the pale neck. Draco relaxed a little and sighed at the gentle pressure Blaise added into the touch. Blaise went to stand closely behind Draco and gave the slightly trembling shoulder an easy massage. "I know that," Draco murmured dejectedly. "But every step hurts like I'm walking on fucking glowing spikes."

"You're just not used to it yet," Blaise said and brushed his lips against Draco's clammy nape before taking the blonde's hand, taking a step to the right to walk next to Draco. "Come on now, just a few more steps."

"This better be worth it," Draco muttered, but braced himself by gently chewing on his bottom lip and furrowing his brows. The agony started again, and Draco didn't hesitate to let everyone in the castle know just how painful his rehabilitation was.

Ron watched them with an amused glint in his eyes. He sat by the window and looked on as Draco made his way down the corridor, clutching onto Blaise's strong arm. The fact that both Draco and Ron had been so weakened by the operation really should have worried him more than it did. No one had expected Ron and Draco's bodies to be so exhausted. The blood transplant was, after all, one of the rare kinds of surgery. Few knew how to handle it. Draco did his best in trying to regain his strength, but Ron just didn't seem to find the motivation. He didn't know why.

It wasn't that he didn't want to be turned. He didn't regret anything, and he was beyond happy to be able to hang out with Harry again. The few months he had been left without Harry had been more painful to him than Draco's agonizing attempts to walk. Harry had always been his pillar of support, even though Ron didn't always deserve it. But he was tired. God, he was really tired. Ron had started falling asleep every now and then, sleeping for less than an hour, only to being forced awake again, feeling even more exhausted than before.

He turned his gaze to the world outside the castle. It was dark. Nathanael had explained to him that the sun didn't exist in this world. Only the moon, which glowered against Ron, casting ghostly shadows behind him. He could see the tops of different trees waving to him, swaying gently in the wind. He suddenly had an urge to go outside. Just to feel a gust of wind ruffling his hair. Maybe then he'd feel alive again. Being caught inside the castle didn't exactly help Ron's sense of motivation kick in.

But he wasn't allowed to leave the third floor. Ron frowned without realizing it. The castle was filled with creatures who would love to sink their teeth into him, breaking skin, drinking his blood. The castle was filled with vampires. That was the reason Ron wasn't allowed to leave. He was safe of the third floor.

Ron pressed his palm against the chilly surface of the window, hoping he'd perhaps get a sense of what it would feel like to be outside, but the only result of putting his hand against the glass was feeling cold seep into his skin. He sighed and removed the hand slowly.

"You look perfectly miserable."

Ron slowly turned to the source of the sound and was met by a quirked eyebrow and crooked grin. Nathanael. Ron attempted to give a smile, but failed.

"I'm just tired," he replied, but as he spoke, even he could hear the empty tone of his voice. "I want to go outside."

"That," Nathanael started and took a seat next to Ron, "is unfortunately impossible at the moment. You do realize that they would rip you to shreds if you walked outside, don't you?"

"Aren't you a vampire, too?" Ron countered and quirked an eyebrow. "How come you're not ripping me to shreds then?"

Nathanael grinned cockily and revealed sharp canines. Ron's gaze was drawn to them before he could stop it, and Nathanael quickly stopped smiling, as if sensing they made Ron uncomfortable. Which they actually did. It didn't matter that Ron would soon have his own set of pointy fangs, because at the moment, Ron was still human and Nathanael wasn't.

"There are vampires, and there are vampires," Nathanael replied and made Ron cock his head to the side. "I'm over a hundred years old. I've learned to control my hunger. But there are younger and much weaker vampires in this castle, and even though they know that they aren't allowed to harm you, the scent of your blood would be enough for them to go berserk. Vampires can live on the blood of animals, but human blood is like a drug."

"Hmm?" Ron hummed and gave a pale smile. "So... You're like a vampire-vegetarian, then."

"I wouldn't say that," Nathanael chuckled. "I love human blood, I'm not going to lie to you. The taste is unbelievable. Some day, you'll understand. To be frank, it's like I'm having a conversation with a gourmet meal." The vampire sniggered, as if the thought greatly amused him. Ron stared at him with a slightly alarmed expression. Nathanael seemed to realize his blunder and continued. "But yes, in certain ways, I guess you could call me a vampire-vegetarian. I never kill humans unless I'm forced. Unlike other vampires. One of my older brothers likes to kill humans, even if he's not hungry. Trenton banned him from this castle several years ago because of that."

"Trenton sounds like a good guy."

"Oh, I'm sure he sounds like a saint to you. Trenton has his moments of evil, too. But he believes in mutual respect between humans and vampires. Although it might seem like we're much stronger than humans, they have powers that we don't possess, too."

"Such as?" Ron asked after snorting with amused disbelief.

"Humans..." Nathanael's expression softened a little. "Humans have the power to walk in sunshine. They live on, trying their very best to succeed in everything. They have a sense of love for life. Compassion. Intuition. Humans believe in happiness, and they are doing everything they can to gain it. I think it's quite admirable."

Ron snorted again and turned back the dark world outside the castle.

"Humans start idiotic wars. Half the world of humans is filthy rich, while the other part suffers from poverty. Humans are greedy, jealous-"

"Humans are humans. Unsightly feelings like greed and jealousy are natural. Vampires possess them, too." Nathanael said and glanced to Ron, who suddenly looked angry as he stared into the wall on the other side.

"Humans stab other humans in the back. Humans dessert one another. Humans don't care."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience."

Ron didn't reply at once, but opted to turn his gaze to Blaise and Draco who had, at last, made their way to the end of the corridor, and were now trying to get back. Draco had stopped whining, but the expression on his face was dull and aching. Blaise seemed to murmur words of encouragement to the blonde, who sometimes nodded briefly. Ron sighed before turning back to Nathanael, who also watched Draco and Blaise fighting to get back to their room.

"I am," Ron finally mumbled and scowled to the floor. "My mother and father weren't pleased when I helped Harry escape from Hogwarts."

"Well, that I can imagine." Nathanael nodded and dragged a hand through his hair, not really catching onto the impact of what the redhead was trying to explain. Ron gave a hollow smile without taking his eyes from the stone floor.

"... They completely shunned me. At first they were just really, really angry. I've never been yelled at like that before. My mom even hit me. And then, after a few days, they just... started to ignore me. Like I was air. I was sent back to Hogwarts. My classmates didn't speak to me. My sister ignored me. The only acknowledgement I got from my brothers was a few glares. Like I wasn't even their brother anymore, just another fellow student that they didn't like.

"Mom stopped sending me letters. And then, just before Christmas and I was getting ready to go home, hoping they had forgiven me, I finally received one. It said that I wasn't welcome home for Christmas. I had to spend the holiday without my family, for the first time in my life."

Ron turned his hollow gaze to Nathanael who looked too stunned to speak. A sad, crackling and trembling smile made its way to Ron's lips.

"All because I wanted my best friend to be happy." The redhead grit his teeth before he continued. "I used to hope that they'd forgive me. I was even willing to overlook the fact that they were going to force me to spend Christmas alone. I just wanted them to look at me again. And now I can never go back to how it was before. Everything changed that night."

"... Are you regretting what you did?" Nathanael asked, trying to remain calm, but the width of his eyes and the tremble to his voice gave away the fact that he was stirred up from what Ron had told him.

"If I had known from the beginning what was going to happen," Ron started and paused briefly, as if to consider his next words. "I might've opted to stay in my bed instead of rushing after Harry. Because I'm a baby and a coward. But now, after I've seen how my own family reacted to it all... I'm not sorry. I'm sad, yes. But I'm here now, and I'm not sorry." His voice cracked and the redhead turned away from the vampire prince.

Nathanael didn't say anything. Ron didn't blame him. What could he possibly say to make Ron feel better? There was no way he could understand how Ron felt. Being born and raised as a vampire, Nathanael probably didn't even understand what it meant to have a family. Ron closed his eyes and forced the cold air in and out of his lunges. He felt dizzy. He wanted to sleep again. He didn't expect the vampire to say anything more. But he did.

"I have three older brothers. One of them is named Stefan, and we used to be close," Nathanael said in a rather uncaring tone. "Actually, 'close' isn't the right word. I looked up to him more than I looked up to my own father. He was my Idol, and he looked after me whenever I needed it, even though I was young and rash and nothing like him." A crooked smile made its way to Nathanael's lips. "I guess I was a pretty annoying little brother. But he never seemed troubled by it."

Ron didn't open his eyes, but listened intently. He was so tired, all sounds blurred together, except Nathanael's words. They were crystal clear.

"When I was twenty-one, which is young for us, a mere teen... He brought me along to the human world. I was absolutely thrilled. Being so young, I wasn't really allowed to go there yet, but Stefan had asked our father for permission." Nathanael gave a loud sigh and crossed his arms over his chest, as if he was discussing something that irked him a little bit, rather than something important. Ron cracked his eyes open a little bit.

"There's this rule... Trenton decided that if we're going to travel to the human world, we aren't allowed to kill humans. This is because it would stir up unwanted attention and everything would just turn complicated and troublesome. We can drink from humans, yes. But never kill. And even if we drink from humans, we need damned good reasons to do so."

"This is seriously messing up the mental image I've had of vampires my whole life. You make it sound like you're all angels," Ron murmured and Nathanael gave a semi-amused snort.

"Don't forget that these are just Trenton's rules - not laws of the vampire society. But since we've lived in Trenton's house since I was little, these rules applied to us." His smile paled a little and he turned to the floor with a shrug. "I hadn't understood that Stefan was one of those who thought that rules are meant to be broken. We went to London, and he told me that... Since I was growing up, we'd do something great together. So we went out and found ourselves a woman in an alley."

"Why are there always women in alleys? Shouldn't they have learned their lesson by now? Being alone in an alley at night isn't good."

Nathanael gave a short laugh and Ron smiled a little.

"He killed her."

Ron's smile froze and bronze eyes opened wide, staring but not seeing the floor. Breathing was a task that Ron found himself unable to handle. He felt like crouching, crawling back to his bed, and then sleep for hours. He didn't want to hear this right now. He had his own shit to deal with. And even if Nathanael told him all of this in an effort to comfort him, the vampire wasn't doing a good job. Ron felt cold and clammy and sick. He forced his eyes to turn to his side. Nathanael's smile was intact and incredibly wrong.

"He wanted me to do it, see? But when I refused, being too shocked and too young to understand why anyone would want to break the rules that I had been taught to follow since I was little, Stefan got angry with me. We went back home, and he wouldn't talk to me for a while. I was miserable," Nathanael said and added a small laugh, as if he was talking about something funny that happened last week. "And when Trenton found out what Stefan had done, there was a trial. Stefan talked to me and asked me to lie for his sake. I wanted to lie. I really did. I knew that Stefan would be forced to leave Trenton's house if the truth came out."

Nathanael frowned, as if he had forgotten what happened next. Ron watched him, feeling sleep nudge his mind harder with each passing second.

"But I couldn't lie, because somewhere, deep inside, I knew that Stefan had done something wrong. My image of him drastically changed from being an Idol, to simply being my older brother... who had killed a human woman just for fun. So I told the truth. Stefan was thrown out and moved to Tyrone. But before he moved, he told me straight out that I was a disappointment, and that he no longer considered me his younger brother." Nathanael gave a grin and Ron's gaze darkened.

"Why are you smiling?"

Nathanael's grin turned into a paler smile at the angry tone of Ron's voice. Ron couldn't help it. It was like a wave of fury that turned his insides into a turmoil of frustration and irritation. And he was too exhausted to keep it inside.

"Are you trying to cover up the fact that you're hurting or something? Or are you trying to fool me into believing that you don't care what happened back then? That even though your brother tried to force you into killing a human girl, you don't care at all, and that's why you can sit here and chuckle as if none of that affected you? Trying to act tough? Seriously? Or are you telling me that I should stop feeling shitty, and start laughing at what happened, like you do?"

Ron stood up slowly and ignored Draco and Blaise who were now just a few meters away and could hear everything that he said.

"It's not working. You can act as cool as you like, pretending you think this is all fucking hilarious, but that was just miserable. Your brother was a sick bastard. And I feel sorry for you."

Nathanael had stopped smiling. Ron glared at him with all the energy he could muster. He was pissed. What kind of fucked up attitude was that? If that had been an attempt to seem cool, Ron was disgusted. He didn't care that Nathanael had given him half his blood. Nathanael was an idiot.

"If you were trying to make me feel better, you failed."

Ron watched Nathanael turn his face away, letting black hair fall over his face like a curtain, hiding away. The Weasley grit his teeth and turned around, slowly starting to make his way back to his bedroom. But damnit, although he wasn't as weakened as Draco was, it fucking hurt. His legs screamed for him to stop walking, but he desperately wanted to go to bed. Just a few more steps, and he'd reach the door. Harry had helped him out to the window, but Harry had left to talk to Tom about something. And Blaise was busy holding a panting Draco up.

"Shit..." Ron hissed and reached for the door, which was still a good few inches away.

Strong hands grasped his left arm, brought it up, and placed it around firm shoulders. Ron glared hard at the floor when Nathanael helped him to the door, opened it, and brought Ron inside. Damn it. He didn't want the help of someone who couldn't even take things seriously. Ron usually loved joking and he wasn't exactly known for being the stoic kind of person, but even he knew when it was time to take things seriously. Nathanael closed the door behind them carefully, and Ron tried straining away from him, making it obvious how uncomfortable he was feeling. Nathanael didn't let go.

The vampire led Ronald to the bed where the human quickly released himself from Nathanael and sighed as he carefully sat down on the bed, feeling the sheets cool his burning skin and ease the pain a little. He refused to look at Nathanael, who stood still before him, apparently not intending to leave yet.

"What?" Ron grumbled, sinking further into the mattress, lowering himself towards the pillows. "Did you have something else hilarious to tell me? Your mother passed away or something?"

"I see nothing hilarious in the matter. She died when I was very young."

Ron hissed and shut his eyes tightly, partly from the pain that coursed through him from bringing his body into his bed, and partly from saying something stupidly insensitive. At least Nathanael didn't sound amused anymore.

"Then what is it? I'm tired."

Nathanael didn't say anything, but he took a seat on the chair next to Ron's bed. After almost a minute of uncomfortable silence, Ron forced himself to look at Nathanael. Said vampire was watching the floor with concentration. Black hair framed his pale face. A straight nose. Thin, pale lips. Sharp jaw. Ron mentally snorted.

_I guess it's true what they say... All vampires look good._

"I didn't mean to sound insensitive or disrespectful," Nathanael finally ground out, and Ron blinked, waiting for the vampire to continue. "In my family, we've been taught not to display emotions. People can use it against you."

"... That's fucked up. Don't you have anyone that you trust?"

"Not yet," Nathanael said and gave a sad semi-smile. "I'm still looking for one of those. About my brother..."

"You don't have to force yourself," said Ron and sighed tiredly. He was starting to feel a little guilty. But Nathanael shook his head.

"I'm not. I want you to know that... You're right. There's nothing funny about it. I was a miserable kid. I didn't have a mother, and none of the women that my father had as lovers stayed with us. Stefan was one of the few who really seemed to care. And I think he did care. It's just that we didn't know how different we were. And... He still comes to visit. Although he's not allowed to live here, he can visit to join parties and such sometimes. He was here a few weeks ago, actually." Nathanael paused and swallowed. The corners of his lips trembled, as if they wanted to crack open in a grin to once again hide the pain, but Nathanael didn't smile.

"He never forgets to remind me how much he resents me when he visits. He can choose to completely ignore me, or he can choose to openly display his discontent with me. Last time, he _accidently_ spilled his entire glass of blood over my shirt." Nathanael sighed and rubbed his forehead. "It's generally small stuff. Other people normally don't realize what he's doing, or they pretend not to. And since we're from a respected family... I have to act like nothing is wrong. At least when we're amongst other vampires." He shrugged a little and met Ron's gaze. "It's pretty painful, but I can handle it. I don't know if I told you to make you feel better or not... I'm not good at dealing with stuff like that."

Ron's eyes started to sting a little, as his body demanded him to go to sleep. But Ron couldn't sleep yet.

"For a vampire, you're pretty human."

Nathanael smiled at that and his shoulder shook a little with a gentle chuckle.

"My father tells me I've always been a soft one. Says I got it from my mother. That's probably the difference between my brother and me. He can kill humans for a damned hobby, while I don't exactly dance at the thought of killing someone. I'm a vampire, and just like Trenton, I have my moments of evil, but only when I'm forced to be. Or when I simply feel like it." He smirked a little and cocked his head to the side, making the black hair swing over his shoulder. "I wonder what kind of vampire you will turn out to be. Vampira Magikas are usually less evil than purebloods. Because you used to be human."

Ron attempted to shrug, but he was too tired, and closed his eyes instead.

"Who knows?"

"How are you feeling, by the way?"

"Sleepy."

"That's fine. As long as you don't feel like you're going to _die_, I guess sleeping is okay." Nathanael grinned. Ron snorted without opening his eyes and smirked a little.

"You have a terrible sense of humor."

"The only quality I got from my father, it seems," was the amused reply and Ron gave a weak laugh before he cracked an eye open.

"Are you going to stay seated there until I fall asleep?"

Nathanael looked surprised for a second, as if he himself didn't understand why he was still sitting next to Ron's bed, but then he pursed his lips and pretended to think about it.

"Yep."

Ron sighed and shook his head weakly before going slack.

"Nothing I can... do about it, I guess..."

Ronald Weasley fell asleep and Nathanael Dragulia stayed seated next to the bed, staring bemusedly at the redhead. How come he had told Ron about his brother? He hated talking about his brother. Stefan wasn't someone Nathanael liked to think about. And yet, Ron had made him spill the entire story, without even forcing it out of him. That was weird. Then again, being yelled at by a weak and exhausted human was also something that didn't happen often.

Nathanael let his gaze wander over Ronald's chest that slowly but steadily rose and sank with every deep breath the teen took. Then the neck, and the fine skin, under which there was plenty of delicious blood. Nathanael could smell it, and it made him shudder a little. If anything, Nathanael was surprised that Ron had let him stay with him. Shouldn't the teen be worried about the fact that he was basically like a living juice-box to Nathanael who just happened to possess a set of sharp canines?

Maybe Ron trusted him?

Nathanael blinked and carefully brought his gaze to Ron's face. It looked peaceful now that the sleep dulled the pain. The skin was quite pale, and the freckles that were strewn across the bridge of Ron's nose stood out more now, than they had before the surgery. Long lashes rested against Ron's cheeks.

Nathanael's mouth had gone dry, and he stood up, deciding it was time to go. He swallowed, shook his head as to clear his mind, and went for the door. He left the room without glancing back to Ron.

He didn't dare to.

Something felt different.

Nathanael didn't know how to handle it.

He wasn't good at dealing with stuff like that.

* * *

"You seem to be in a good mood," Harry commented with a slight grin as he walked into Tom's study. Said vampire lord was currently frowning sharply as he read some papers that apparently held bad news. Tom glanced at Harry who walked up to his desk and put his hands on the surface, leaning over to take a look at the papers Tom was reading.

"Oh yes," Tom drawled dryly. "The vampires from Tyrone demands payment for your surgery, and it's not going to cheap. If that's not enough to put me in a good mood, I don't know what would."

Harry sighed and lowered his head before taking a seat on the chair in front of the desk.

"If you're deliberately trying to make me feel bad, you're doing one heck of a job," he muttered and kept his chin low, but carefully lift his gaze to look at his lover. Tom was still reading the papers with a deep frown. "I'm sorry, okay?"

Tom grunted softly, not appearing to be angry, and Harry relaxed. He watched as Tom flipped through the pages, sometimes scribbled something down on another paper, and sighing. Harry bit his lip.

"You want me to make it up to you?" He asked, half playful, half serious. Tom's lips curved into a small smirk, but the older vampire didn't take his eyes off the papers in his hand.

"I'd love to see you try," was the reply and Harry perked up. His semi-surprised expression slowly formed into a dark smirk. The teen stood up in front of the desk and cocked his head to the side. Then he slowly lift his hands to the buttons of his shirt. The first button was undone and Tom's gaze froze on the paper as he realized what Harry was doing. By the time the third button was undone, Tom's gaze finally flickered to Harry's revealed chest. Harry's smile widened. He tossed the shirt aside when all the buttons had been taken care of, and slowly strode to the other side of the desk. Tom's eyes followed his every move.

"Is it working?" Harry murmured and came to stand close to the Riddle. Tom slowly turned his chair to face Harry's stomach, and without a word, he took a gentle but strong grip of Harry's hips, pulling the teen closer and brushed his lips against Harry's abs. Harry's breath hitched slightly, and he mentally cursed. Why was it that every time he tried to seduce Tom, the tables always turned, and he was the one being seduced and reduced to a stuttering, panting heap of want? Tom's lips travelled south and the fire that lingered made Harry go weak.

"Apparently." Tom sighed against Harry's skin, making the younger jerk a little and let out a hiss. Tom smirked and pulled Harry even closer, prompting him to sit in his lap. Harry obeyed and slid his hands over Tom's silk-covered chest, biting his lips as the fabric that kept them apart drove him mad.

"Take it off," Harry demanded and started tugging on the shirt Tom was wearing. After a silent snicker, Tom obliged. White, fine, delicious skin was revealed to Harry who dragged his hands up and down Tom's shoulders and chest. Harry leaned in and placed his lips against Tom's neck, brushing softly, not kissing yet. Tom tensed a little under him, and Harry sighed against the smoothness before opening his mouth and nibbling softly. Tom gave a quiet groan of approval.

Tom placed his hands behind Harry and grabbed him almost harshly, forcing a brief yelp from Harry's throat. But when Tom made Harry's hips roll slowly over his own, Harry almost choked on his own moan. It was maddening. Fire gathered quickly in his groin and foggy clouds of numbing arousal filled his head. His control was rapidly slipping, and Harry didn't make an effort to grasp after it. He leaned in closer and pressed himself against Tom's prodding arousal.

Chests slid against each other and Harry's hands went up to bury themselves in Tom's long hair. He was already panting, already ready. Tom's breath hit his throat and Harry hissed again before shutting his eyes to keep himself from losing his mind completely. He bent down and searched for Tom's lips, and when he found them, a tongue was shoved inside, demanding Harry surrendered. Which Harry did. Tom's tongue slid slowly and hotly against his own, and Harry lost himself to the sensations.

Tom's right hand wandered to their crotches and gave a brief caress to Harry's needy tent before swiftly undoing their pants. Members were forced together and rubbed against each other so suddenly that Harry didn't have time to bite back a yell of want. Tom swallowed it up and smirked against Harry's trembling lips. Harry closed his eyes and completely surrendered. Tom could do whatever he wanted. As long as he continued to give Harry this blinding pleasure, continued to push Harry closer to that edge.

"Oh, god," Harry panted as his hips thrust harder against Tom's skilled hand. It wasn't just the intimate feeling of being touched - it was the closeness. Harry could feel Tom's shaft press against his, and it made him want to weep with suppressed need. A need that slowly started growing into desperation. Harry's hand joined Tom's, and the timid thrusts of their hips became forceful, harder.

Harry wasn't pushed towards the edge anymore - he was being shoved there. His eyes were half-shut, as he glanced at the scene between their stomachs. It was as if his mind didn't register what he was seeing. He could only feel.

And then he felt two sharp teeth bury themselves in the curve between his shoulder and his neck, and his mouth dropped open but no sounds escaped him. His throat had locked itself upon the maddening amount of pleasure crashing over them, shattering the last remaining pieces of Harry's numb mind as the wave of orgasm grabbed a hold of them and threw them far over the edge.

A second wave made them shudder, and Harry's throat unlocked itself. A scream tore itself from his gut, voicing all the sensations he felt that he was unable to express in words. Tom's hands held him so tightly that the sharp nails were about to break skin, and the mouth that was still plastered against Harry purred in delight as it sucked hot crimson fluids from Harry's body.

They slowed down. The powerful thrust became a gentler rock, and soon they stilled completely. Tom let go of Harry neck and licked the wound carefully. Harry, who had shut his eyes during the duration of six or seven seconds of mindnumbling pleasure, slowly opened the green orbs and stared dizzily at Tom. Mouths found each other and they kissed, much softer this time, as if soothing each other, calming each other.

"... So..." Harry said hoarsely and brought their brows together. He was still panting. "Are you in a better mood now?"

Tom grinned tiredly and showed off his canines. There were still traces of Harry's blood on them. Harry shuddered slightly.

"Much better. But those bastards are still demanding too much." A frown reappeared on Tom's forehead and Harry pressed his lips against the wrinkle, feeling the skin smooth out under his lips.

"I'll go check in my piggy bank," Harry said and smiled as Tom's chest shook a little from a soft chuckle.

* * *

"Hey, I was wondering..." Harry said as he buttoned his shirt. Tom was already back to reading the documents from Tyrone, looking as if he hadn't just had very passionate sex with his mate.

"What?"

"When will it be time for Ron, Draco and Blaise to get turned?" Harry retook his seat before the desk and Tom put the documents down, putting on a thoughtful expression.

"Well, Weasley and Malfoy haven't recovered yet. We won't be able to do a thing until they've regained their strength."

"Who will turn them?"

"We'll have to ask the Tyrones. But I'd say you'll probably be the one to turn Draco Malfoy, and Nathanael will turn Ronald Weasley."

"Cuz we gave them our blood?" Harry leaned back in the chair, feeling a bit drained. Tom had taken a lot of his blood this time. Not that he minded, but now he felt exhausted. Tom gave Harry a briefly concerned look before continuing.

"Yes. It seems most likely. I don't know who's going to turn Blaise Zabini. None of them were meant to be vampires, so none of them have destined mates. Which means it doesn't really matter as much as it did when we turned you. You needed to drink my blood for it to work. But it's different for them. Honestly, Harry, I don't know."

Harry nodded tiredly and stood up from the chair. Tom followed his movements with obvious concern.

"Did I drink too much?" He asked, worry laced in his otherwise stoic voice. Harry smiled softly and shook his head.

"Nah. I'm just a bit tired. I'm going back to our chamber."

Tom nodded slowly, accepting Harry's words, and went back to reading documents. The frown slowly crept over his features again. Harry gave an amused smile at this and turned around to leave the room. But just as he reached the door, something else struck him. Something disturbing. He turned back to Tom and bit his lip.

"... Will they have to do the tests?"

Tom paused in his concentrated reading and peered at Harry. The serious look on Tom's face made Harry's stomach tighten.

"Every vampire has to do them. You know that, Harry," Tom said, and the tone in his voice was softer now.

Harry's heart slowed down a little as a cold hand gripped it. So Ron would eventually have to kill a human? Would he be able to handle it? Or would he break down, just like Harry had almost done?

Harry gave Tom a bleak smile, nodded, and left the room.

He did not look forward to telling the three humans what they would be forced to do to be accepted into the house of Trenton.

tbc.

* * *

Please review! ^^


	26. Chapter 24

I disclaim Harry Potter. Everything, except my own original ideas and characters (such as Trenton, Nathanael and "Vampira Magika"), belongs to J.K.R.

HAH. I won't even apologize anymore. I'm always late. My life's a mess. Blah blah. I suck.

(To all my reviewers: I know I don't always reply, but that's not because I don't feel like it. It's just that I don't have that much free time (another reason as to why my updates are always late), but I want you to know that I am immensely grateful for all kind words. You always put a smile on my face and give me motivation I so desperately need to continue.)

* * *

Ron Weasley woke up with a start, feeling more than a little disoriented. He blinked confusedly, trying to determine whether or not he was alone in the room. His human eyes weren't used to the constant darkness yet.

He was alone. Ron sighed and the tension in his shoulders melted away as he laid back against the pillows, and noticed that they were slightly damp. Ron frowned and slid his fingers against his forehead. He was sweating. A lot. He'd had a nightmare. Ron closed his eyes and ignored the uncomfortable dampness on his pillows. He remembered being home at the Burrow.

_"You are not my son!"_

__

"How could you be so incredibly stupid!"

Ron gasped and sat up again, pressing both hands to his chest. It hurt to breathe.

_"Have you any idea what you have done? Huh? Harry Potter is dead because of you! You've doomed us all."_

__

SLAP.

"As if our family needed something more to be ashamed of!"

Ron flinched and brought one of his hands to his cheek where his mother had hit him a few months ago. It still ached.

_"I don't even want to see your face. Especially not during the holiday. You'll ruin Christmas for us. You'll have to spend Christmas at school."_

Ron grit his teeth and fell back against the pillows again, feeling a stubborn burn behind his eyes. It hadn't just been a nightmare. Those were real memories. Memories he wished to erase. Memories that hurt. And at the same time, they were memories that made him stronger. Memories that made him even more determined.

He was going to become a vampire. No matter how painful the process would be, he'd definitely become a vampire. And once he was a vampire, he'd show them all. He _wasn't_ stupid. He _hadn't_ caused Harry Potter's death. If anything, he was the smart one. He was the only one who could see that Harry needed to go with Tom, while the others had tried to tie him down.

Ron gave a slight pout and frowned as he sat up again, realizing that he was too much awake to be able to fall asleep again. For which he was actually grateful. He had been sleeping too much lately. He knew it was because his body was trying to regain its' strength, but it was too irregular, and it only resulted in Ron feeling drowsy and tired all the time.

But now, he actually felt somewhat energetic. He wanted to get up and do something. He wanted to walk.

So the redhead twisted his body until he could swing his legs over the edge of the mattress. He sat up slowly, and carefully placed his feet on the cool stone floor. Ron's fists dug into the sheets as he tried adding some pressure, but hissed briefly as sharp twinges of pain shot up his legs.

"Shit," he murmured and frowned as he felt new pearls of sweat break out over his face and back. He had assumed that Draco was a pampered brat who exaggerated, but now he realized that the blonde's loud complaints the other day were justified. He wouldn't be able to start walking on his own. He needed help.

A soft knock was heard, and Ron's gaze darted towards the door nervously.

"Who is it?" He croaked hoarsely and cursed silently when the effort it took for him to speak made his head throb slightly. The door creaked open and a head peeked inside. Ron sighed and turned his gaze to the floor when Harry walked into the room.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Ron muttered and turned his gaze to his aching feet.

"... Sitting up?" Harry replied before he walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "Is it fun?"

Ron gave a semi-amused snort and turned back to Harry. The dark-haired teen wore normal jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

"Would it be weird if I said that I like your outfit?"

Harry gave a short laugh and sat down next to Ron. The slight movement made Ron's feet press down against the floor briefly, and the redhead shut his eyes tightly and grit his teeth. A flash of pain shot up and made his knees flinch. Harry didn't seem to notice.

"Maybe. A little."

Ron forced himself to grin, even though traces of fatigue and pain still made his body pulsate.

"What I meant is that I'm just glad to see how normal you look. I got the impression that all vampires dress like that Trenton guy."

"Ah, I see what you mean. Cloaks, robes, drama." Harry chuckled. "Don't worry about that. Most vampires dress accordingly to how they used to dress when they were young. Trenton happens to be from the cloak-era. That's why."

"Oh." Ron nodded slowly, more to himself than Harry, and let his gaze go back to his feet.

"Ron?" Harry put a careful hand on Ron's back. "You okay?"

Ron took a deep breath and gave a grin that felt so forced it must've looked tragic.

"Um... It's just that..." He sighed, no longer having the energy to keep up the happy facade. "I need to start walking soon, because Malfoy started walking a few days ago, and he was all 'ooow, Blaisey, it like totally hurts!' and I assumed he was just being Malfoy, but Harry, it seriously _hurts_!" He turned to stare at his best friend with wide eyes. "It hurts. Badly."

Harry looked speechless for a second, but quickly sobered and gave Ron a semi-amused look.

"That's why you should've waited. I would've gone and fetched Nathanael for you."

Ron flinched and bit his lip. Nathanael? Nathanael was going to help him start walking. Ron felt how a wave of heat washed over his face.

"Why can't you help me?" Ron pouted grumpily, effectively hiding his embarrassment. "Nathanael is... weird."

"Hey, that's not a very nice thing to say," a familiar voice chuckled from the door. Nathanael stepped inside the room, and another wave of heat washed over Ron who stubbornly refused to look at the vampire. "Especially to your new personal trainer."

Ron gave a quick, flustered smile and desperately grasped for something sarcastic to say. He couldn't think of anything, causing a somewhat embarrassed silence.

"... I apologize," Ron muttered. "You have to agree though." He forced himself to grin confidently and meet Nathanael's gaze. "You are slightly weird."

"'Slightly' I can live with. But you know, I'm not the one who's been living as a human his entire life up until now and is about to turn into an undead. That's you."

A pang of hurt flashed through Ron. He didn't want to think about his human life. Not now, when he was desperately trying to forget everything that had happened.

"Don't be a jerk, Nathan," Harry sighed and stood up from the mattress. Nathanael seemed to realize his blunder and nodded, looking regretful.

"Right. Uh... So are you ready to get started?" He said, sounding a bit too optimistic. "We'll have you back on your feet again in no time."

"Thank god," Ron scoffed amusedly. "I was afraid I'd never be able to dance ballet again."

Nathanael and Harry gave short snorts of suppressed laughter. Ron felt himself calm down and his aching heart settled to a gentle, dull soreness.

"I'll get going then," Harry said and made it to the door before he seemed to hesitate and turned back to Ron. "I... I have something I want to talk to you about. Later." Harry said and gave a smile that was supposed to be calm and natural, but Ron, having known Harry for almost five years, saw the small crease between the eyebrows. That crease indicated worry. And nervousness. And it was contagious. Ron frowned slightly and stared at Harry.

"Oh, okay..."

Harry nodded and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more, but closed it again. He smiled again and quickly exited the room. Ron stared at the spot where Harry had been standing a few seconds ago. Irritation flashed through him and he sighed. Ron was nervous enough already. Harry's weird behavior made him worry even more. Was something wrong? Maybe he was dying, and Harry didn't have the heart to tell him? A finger jabbed into the space between his eyebrows, effectively interrupting his thoughts.

"Stop before you give yourself a headache," Nathanael chuckled as he had obviously read the slightly panicked look on Ron's face. The finger was removed from Ron's brow and Nathanael crossed his arms over his chest. "There's nothing wrong with you, okay? I wouldn't waste my time on someone who won't stick around."

Ron flushed and turned his face to the floor. How could Nathanael read him so easily? The vampire said the most oblivious, stupid and daft things sometimes, and yet he still managed to read Ron's feelings as if he was an open book. And strangely enough, it calmed Ron down.

"Fine," he muttered and turned to face the still smirking vampire. "Wipe the grin off and help me up."

Nathanael gave a short chuckle, walked up to Ron and held his arms out for Ron to brace himself on. Ron grabbed the strong arms and tried to heave himself up. A grunt escaped him as pain seared through his feet and all the way up to his spine.

"Ow..."

"Take it easy. There's no rush."

Ron snorted, although he still appreciated the words of comfort and support.

"Yeah, except I don't have all the time in the world."

"No, but you do have time." Nathanael replied and sounded oddly calm. Ron blinked and looked up at the handsome immortal. Nathanael wasn't grinning smugly like he usually did, but the expression on his face was patient and calm. Ron felt another wave of heat wash over him, and the grip he had on Nathanael's arms tightened slightly as he gave it another try, this time going slower.

"Don't force yourself. If you feel as if you're about to fall, that's fine. I'm here to catch you."

Ron nodded with a concentrated frown. A few seconds later, he was standing straight, still clinging to Nathanael for dear life. Pearls of sweat formed on his forehead as he bit his lip. It hurt. It seriously hurt. All of a sudden, the fact that Draco had been able to walk back and forth through the corridor invoked a sense of respect for the blonde in Ron.

"You okay?" Nathanael asked and Ron nodded jerkily. "Does it hurt?" Ron gave another grunt and nodded again.

"What the fuck do you think?" He hissed and shut his eyes tightly.

"It'll get better eventually," Nathanael said calmly. "Hang onto me. I'll start to back away, and I want you to try and follow me. We'll take it one step at a time."

Ron breathed through his nose and tried to get a grip of himself, which was easier said than done, as the pain that coursed through him was so intense it made him want to throw up. Nathanael took a small step back, and Ron gritted his teeth as he forced his left foot to follow. A sob escaped him as he put the almost limp foot down again, and tried adding some pressure to it.

"_Fuck!" _He gasped and bowed his head. "I can't do this!" His fingers dug into Nathanael's firm muscles.

"Yes, you can," Nathanael replied, calm as ever, and it pissed Ron off. As if Nathanael knew the agony Ron was in. That bastard.

"No, I can't! It fucking hurts!"

"Pain's part of it," Nathanael said, and Ron's breath hitched. "Did you think turning into a vampire would be easy as pie? You've been a human all your life. And a magic one, at that." Nathanael sounded uncharacteristically stern. "Turning someone like you into a vampire is like pissing on Destiny's plans. It won't be easy."

Ron concentrated on breathing as he took the words in.

"But you're strong. I can tell," Nathanael said, and the hands that were bracing Ron's arms pressed gently on the rigid muscles. Ron sobbed again, frustrated, exhausted, and in pain. But not angry. He blinked the tears away and the grip on Nathanael's arm tightened. Nathanael understood and took another small step back, and Ron braced himself for another step of agony. He lift his right foot and his lips formed a thin line as pain once again seared through him.

"Good boy," Nathanael murmured, and Ron found himself feeling calmer. "You're doing great."

Ron blinked and stared at his quivering, naked feet. Next to them were the pair of shining, black shoes that belonged to Nathanael. One of them moved back slowly, carefully, and Ron moved his left foot again. It hurt. God, it hurt. But as long as he kept watching the black shoes shifting, he could ignore the pain. It calmed him down. Allowed him to focus.

And if he fell, Ron knew that Nathanael would catch him.

* * *

Harry grit his teeth as he walked away from Ron's room. Guilt washed over him and made his head hurt. How the hell was he supposed to tell them? How could he tell his best friend that just turning into a vampire wasn't enough? After turning into a vampire, Ron, Draco and Blaise would all have to do the tests, and if they failed, they wouldn't be allowed to live the House of Trenton anymore. And where would they go? Who would be there to teach them? Harry would've gone with them, but he was a beginner himself, and didn't know everything yet.

Asking Tom to join him was out of the question. Harry scowled at the floor as he walked through the empty corridor. Tom had done more than enough. Harry didn't even want to think about all the trouble he has caused his older lover ever since they first came to this world. Shame burned through him. He had really screwed up. He never thought things through. Harry had never felt more like a spoiled brat than at that moment.

Tom to come with him to the human world to bring three humans to their own dimension. As if the House of Trenton was a fucking preschool, where everyone was welcome. Tom was the one who had asked Dracula if it was possible to turn the three humans into vampires. Tom had been the one to pay for it. Tom was the one who had to bring Harry back to his senses afterwards. Tom. Tom. Tom.

Harry stopped and leaned against the wall, staring at the window across. It was dusty. Someone had forgotten to clean it. Shame filled his already throbbing heart. He felt unworthy. He was Tom Riddle's soul mate, yet he continued to act... human. A spoiled, naïve one, at that.

What had he done to repay Tom for everything the older vampire had done for him? Sucked him off?

Harry scoffed and slid down a few inches and brought his hands up to cover his face, which twisted in anger. His head was spinning.

Suddenly, a strong yearning welled up in him. He needed to see him. Needed to see Tom.

Pushing away from the wall, Harry started sprinting towards their room. He passed older vampires who stared at him as if running was something illegal. Harry didn't care. Just a few more steps.

He needed to feel Tom's warmth. Smell his skin. Taste his blood.

_Tom. Tom. Tom..._

Harry burned for it.

He reached for the closed door, tore it open and leaped inside. Darkness engulfed him. Not even one lit candle. Harry's vampire eyes worked around the darkness and the gentle thumping in his temples allowed him to see, despite the lack of light. The room was empty. Harry's heart sunk, and he gave a frustrated sob as he leaned back against the closed door. He never panicked like this. All he knew was that he needed to see Tom.

Everything felt hopeless. The situation he had put himself in made him feel small, weak and pathetic. Naïve. Like a five year-old, naturally assuming that everything would work out.

"Tom..." he whispered and sighed, trying to shake the feeling of hopelessness off. He needed to confirm that Tom was his. Needed to confirm that he was Tom's. His lips ached longingly when he thought about kissing the older vampire.

He knew that if Tom wasn't in their bedroom, he was probably in his office. But the darkness that surrounded Harry still made him feel like he was left behind. Alone. And he felt stupid. So very, very stupid. And childish. And unworthy. And...

The door behind Harry moved as someone tried to open it.

Harry's eyes went wide and he froze, as if he had woken up from a bad dream. When the door rattled again, he flinched and turned around.

He reached for the knob and opened the door. Tom stared confusedly at him. Harry gaped, as if they hadn't seen each other for weeks. Tom blinked and cocked his head to the side.

"Harry? What on earth are you doing?"

Harry didn't reply, but reached for Tom's robes. When his hands finally grasped the soft fabric, Harry sighed and pressed himself against Tom's strong chest with closed eyes and flushing cheeks. Tom froze for a second, before the tall body relaxed and warm hands placed themselves on Harry's back, slowly inching down. Harry shuddered and hid his face in the expensive robes.

"Tom..." he murmured and his hands bravely slid south, tugging gently on Tom's clothes. He felt Tom's body flex against his own, and it fueled Harry's arousal more than usual. He could already feel the tingling, warm sensation spreading over his body. "Do you love me?" Harry whispered. Tom stiffened again and the hands on Harry's back went to the teen's shoulder, gently pushing Harry away enough so that Tom could get a look of his face.

Harry found himself unable to look at Tom. Bright red cheeks and feverish eyes gazed at the floor as Harry's lips formed a thin line. Tom didn't say anything. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind them.

"Why are you always thinking too much?" Tom sighed and Harry stiffened as his heart started aching. He was doing it again. Troubling Tom seemed to be the only thing he was good at.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry. Instead of apologizing for something you probably didn't do, would you tell me why you're acting this way?" Tom said, managing to sound both cool and gentle. Harry closed his eyes and pressed himself against Tom again.

"I just feel like..." Harry grit his teeth with a frustrated groan. "I just..."

"What?"

Harry waited a few seconds, then he pushed away from Tom, turned away from the older vampire and walked up to the chair next to their bed.

"What you said before... That I think too much. That's the problem. Sometimes, I don't seem to think at all. Don't you ever get sick of me?"

"... What are you talking about?" Tom asked and sighed before he started taking his robes off, frowning slightly. This caused a frown to form on Harry's forehead as well as irritation replaced the sadness and guilt.

"I'm always causing you trouble," Harry grit out and turned his face away with a scowl. "I never think things through... You're always working out my messes."

Tom stared at Harry, who was still glaring at the bathroom door, and snorted softly.

"You're young, Harry. I'm much older than you. Of course I have to work out your messes."

Harry blinked and grit his teeth tighter as Tom walked up to him and bent down and bumped their foreheads together.

"Because I love you."

The words pierced Harry, and it hurt so bad it felt good. He shut his eyes and relaxed a little.

"I feel like I'm a little kid who's always causing trouble for his baby-sitter."

"I don't feel like a baby-sitter," Tom chuckled and straightened. "I already knew this was going to happen. You're sixteen, Harry. I admit I opposed to the idea of bringing three muggles to our world, but I've come to peace with it. As long as it makes you happy."

"... You had to help me bring them here, then you had to speak to Dracula for their sake, then you had to hire those doctors from Tyrone and now..."

"It'll be fine," said Tom and sat down on the bed. "Don't worry about it."

"That's not what I mean," Harry muttered. "I'm saying... I'm the spoiled kid who gets everything he points at, and you're the rich and powerful parent."

"Do you want me to stop?" Tom asked and Harry's head snapped towards his lover.

"Would you please stop asking _me_ what I want? You've already done so much," Harry sighed and gave Tom a soft look. "How can I ever repay you?"

"I can come up with a few ideas," Tom grinned and his cool gaze changed into something redder, more feral.

Harry got up from the chair and kneeled in front of Tom, putting his head on his lover's lap.

"I'm yours. You know that. Please take as much as you wish of me." Harry shuddered at the scent of Tom and leaned closer to the strong body. "You possess me." The whisper was hoarse and heavy with arousal.

A hand came down to grasp Harry's chin and made Harry face the older one. Harry swallowed as he gazed into the strong, red eyes. It almost scared him. It felt as if you'd see the devil if you gazed into them for too long. But Harry couldn't look away. Especially when the eyes came closer as Tom bent down to capture Harry's lips with his own. Harry felt blood gather on his cheeks and in his lower regions.

"Yes, I do," Tom murmured against his lips and the red, dangerous eyes finally slipped closed. "The thought of caressing your skin and drinking your blood," Tom whispered and Harry shuddered. "Is more than enough. The messes you create are nothing compared to what my life was like before."

Harry's body was already pulsating, burning, aching, as he pressed himself closer to Tom with a silent whimper, letting the older one lift him up. Harry straddled Tom's lap and pressed his body as close to Tom as he possibly could. Large, graceful hands caressed his back and grabbed his ass with sudden force, bringing Harry's groin closer to Tom's hardening sex. Harry hissed and started panting as an invisible force made his hips thrust weakly against Tom again and again. He couldn't stop, and he didn't want to stop.

"What was your life like before?" Harry breathed and combed Tom's long hair with his fingers.

"Boring," Tom stated and started playing with the hem of Harry's shirt. Harry shuddered and when long fingers slid under his shirt and caressed the small of his back, he had to bite his lip to keep from moaning loudly. "Nothing interesting ever happened." The shirt was slowly undid, and Harry fell deeper into that warm, pleasant haze of arousal he had gotten used to ever since he met Tom. He knew his nipples stood out, begging Tom to caress them with his tongue. He knew that his hair was tousled. He knew that he was flustered all over. He just didn't care.

Tom bent down to kiss Harry's chest, and Harry couldn't hold back a small whimper. Gritting his teeth, he gazed down to meet Tom's smug smirk.

"Tom," Harry said, his voice already husky and dripping with want. "Don't tease."

The red eyes were filled with a new kind of glint. An evil, intense, aroused glint. Harry shuddered again. Then suddenly, a cry of surprise and slight pain escaped him and he sent Tom an upset look, which quickly turned into a pleasured one. Tom nibbled on his rapidly hardening nipple again, and Harry involuntarily thrust against Tom with a muffled moan.

"You didn't know this, did you?" Tom chuckled darkly, and Harry closed his eyes as another wave of breathtaking pleasure crashed over him. "All vampires have a certain... fondness to pain. The line between pain and pleasure is far too easy to cross and blend." Another nibble, harder this time. Harry panted.

"F-fuck..." It hadn't felt like this before. Harry slipped one eye open and watched as Tom licked and kissed the area around his trembling nipple, then suddenly grazed his pointy canine against it, sending a fantastic thrill of pain and pleasure through Harry, forcing his eye closed again as he moaned.

Patience was gone. Tom had already gripped his wand, and removed Harry's pants with a quick flick. He left the underwear on. Harry frowned and bit his lip as red eyes smothered him. Tom gripped Harry and placed the teen beneath him on the bed. Harry tugged on the shirt, which Tom removed without question.

Harry started removing his underwear, but Tom's hand grasped his wrist and stopped him.

"I'll do it," he said and bent down between Harry's spread legs. Harry's breath hitched in his throat as Tom's tongue slid out and licked Harry's already erect member through the fabric. Harry stared at the scene, reluctant to blinking. The teeth finally gripped the hem of his underwear and slowly pulled down. Harry's member sprung free and slapped against his stomach. Tom's red eyes never left it and when the underwear had been removed and thrown away, Tom placed his hands on Harry's knees, only to let them slide towards Harry's groin. The legs trembled under his strong fingers. Harry was already gripping the sheets beneath them.

Tom's patience was rapidly reduced, and he placed himself between Harry's thighs and rubbed their groins together. Harry threw his head back and trembled violently and he bit back the moans.

"You seriously think I could ever get tired of you?" Tom drawled and bent down to lick Harry's neck. The smaller vampire finally released the breath he had been holding and started panting.

"Hurry up!" He hissed. "Tom... Put it in!"

"Hmm? You want me inside that badly?"

Harry's hands left the abused sheets and gripped Tom's shoulders, letting his nails sink into the skin.

"Yes," Harry hissed and gave Tom a glare.

"Aggressive?" Tom smirked and placed his own member against Harry's entrance. The boy jerked and eagerly tried to take it in on his own. Tom chuckled. "That's more like it."

One thrust was all it took.

One thrust to push it all in.

One thrust, and Harry screamed.

"Oh... GOD!"

The hands on Tom's shoulders gripped harder as Tom started going in and out, relentlessly, mercilessly, and Harry loved it. It was fucking redemption. Sweet relief. Every stab into him was confirmation. Confirmation that he was Tom's, and no one else's. Only Tom could make him feel like this.

"... Harder." Harry really did try to ignore the burn in his cheeks as he asked for it. Embarrassment laced through him as Tom gave a short scoff.

"What was that?" Tom leered and slowed down, dragging a growl from Harry. "What do you want?"

"Do it harder!"

"Harder?"

He slowed down even more. Harry glared angrily at his lover as sweat ran down his cheeks and drenched his black bangs. Tom's slow thrusts were agonizing and almost too hot. They drove Harry mad. How the fuck could Tom stay cool? Everything was spinning in Harry's head.

Harry felt his fangs grow longer and he opened his mouth to speak. He couldn't. Instead, a long hiss erupted from him as his canines glistened in the dull light of their bedroom. Tom's eyes widened a fraction, but then that damn smirk was back and Harry glared harder.

"Embrace this feeling, Harry. Do you realize what this is? This anger of yours? The frustration. Do you know what it is?" Tom licked his neck and Harry panted.

"A sincere need to cum, perhaps?" Harry drawled, and realized he had regained control of his voice.

"Normally you'd beg for it. Whimper and whisper and kiss and lick." Tom left his neck and stared straight into Harry's eyes. Those eyes that gleamed red. Harry shuddered again. "You're growing stronger. This, love, is your black side talking."

"The fuck are you talking about?" Harry panted. "The dark part of my soul is taking over? Now? While I'm being fucked?" He snorted.

"Intensity helps it evolve."

"Intensity?"

"Your eyes are black, Harry."

And then Tom sped up. Harry never had the chance to reply, because the second Tom grasped his hips with strong hands and drove into him with hard, fast and furious thrusts, Harry's mind went blank. Legs were spread wider apart, lean hips desperately thrust back, hands clawed and mouths kissed.

"There!" Harry gasped and his hand gripped the small of Tom's back. "Right... there!" His head was thrown back as Tom thrust again, and Harry's hand held him at place. "_Fuck_..."

Before he even knew what he was doing, Harry had already sunk his long fangs into Tom's neck and started drinking. Tom gave a low moan and the thrusts started getting slightly irregular.

"Harry..."

A thick rope of released arousal erupted from Harry, splattered between them and he grunted with satisfaction against Tom's neck. Mere seconds later, he could feel the heat of Tom's seed inside of him, and he sighed, feeling content. He gently released Tom's neck, licking carefully around the wound he had caused and fell back against the pillows.

Tom slipped out of him, and the ache that followed was a pleasant one. Harry sighed and closed his eyes as Tom placed himself next to Harry. Harry turned to his side and threw an arm over Tom's chest.

"I needed that," Harry murmured and the chest rumbled slightly as Tom laughed.

"Obviously."

"... What were you talking about, though?"

"Didn't you notice it yourself?" Tom sighed and stretched gracefully, like a cat. Or a panther. "You're turning more and more aggressive. It's a natural part of this. Up until now, you've maintained a pretty human mentality. Gentleness, reluctance to violence..."

"And that's bad?" Harry yawned, slowly slipping into a sleepy haze.

"I didn't say it was bad. But I'm glad the darkness in your heart is making itself known. You are a vampire, after all."

Harry didn't say anything for a few minutes. He was tired. Ever since Draco, Blaise and Ron had arrived, Harry had been tense as hell. He hadn't been able to sleep properly, nor had he been able to relax. Everything worried him. But now, in the arms of Tom, feeling sore but satisfied, Harry was calm. He slipped further into the haze.

"I... Have to tell them about the tests..." Harry breathed out and nuzzled into Tom's warmth as he spoke.

"Yes."

"They're... Gonna get pissed."

"That's a very likely outcome, yes."

"... Damnit."

Harry slept.

* * *

"So..." Ron said as he balanced himself against the wall, and looked over at Nathanael who was walking next to him. "Does this mean I'll be able to get turned soon?"

"Hmm," Nathanael mused and shoved his hands into his pockets. "You've progressed a lot this last week. A few more days of training, and I think you'll be able to take it."

"Alright!" Ron beamed and turned to look straight ahead with a concentrated and very determined frown. Nathanael continued to watch Ron from the corner of his eye, and smiled a little. It was weird. How Ron could make him smile by... not doing anything particularly funny. Nathanael sighed to himself. He'd never admit it, but he had enjoyed spending the week with Ron, helping him regain his strength, watching him improve little by little. It had been strangely nice. Nathanael usually preferred spending his free time alone, reading or thinking.

He briefly wondered if Harry had told the humans about the three tests yet. The vampire prince glanced to Ron. He doubted it. And Nathanael sure as hell wasn't gonna tell him. Not when Ron looked that determined. To cast more shadows and obstacles in his way wasn't going to help.

"Hey... Has Harry talked to you?"

Ron gave an amused snort.

"Many times."

"I mean lately."

Ron glanced to him and frowned.

"Yeah... We talked a little yesterday. Haven't seen him around today, though. Why?"

Nathanael fought the urge to bite his lip nervously.

"Has he told you anything about what will happen... after you get turned?"

Ron quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing my teeth will grow long and sharp, and that I'll suddenly develop a strong allergy to garlic?"

Nathanael didn't know if he was relieved or not. Ron still didn't know. He was fighting hard to get back on his feet. If he knew that being physically turned into a vampire was only the first step, and probably the simplest step, what would happen to that fighting spirit?

Nathanael wouldn't say anything. He wouldn't kill the fire in Ron's eyes. Harry would get the honor to do so instead.

"Nathanael, you're being weird again," Ron said and gave an amused smirk. Nathanael grinned.

"Yeah, guess I am."

"Sir Nathanael!" A young vampire boy called from the other side of the hallway. "Do you have time? It's very urgent."

Ron and Nathanael turned to look at him and Nathanael immediately reacted to the nervousness in the boy's eyes and the fast breathing.

"What is it?"

The boy quickly glanced to Ron, as if he was unsure whether or not he should be explaining the matter in front of the human, but apparently he didn't have time to dwell on it.

"It's the oracles! They've had a vision! They want to speak to you!"

Nathanael blinked and then frowned. The oracles wanted to see him? Why? The members of the Dragulia clan had set destinies. There was no way something could...

Nathanael turned to Ron.

"Is it okay if I go?"

Ron nodded and gave a weak smile.

"Yeah, of course. I'll just... go back to my room."

"We'll continue the session when I get back," Nathanael said and patted Ron's shoulder before starting to walk towards the boy on the other end. "Just relax while I'm gone. Don't try to train on your own, okay?"

"Okay."

Nathanael rushed through the corridors. The vampires he passed on the way seemed to know exactly what was going on, and it worried Nathanael. The boy who escorted him glanced nervously to him every now and then. Nathanael swallowed. He was a Dragulia. His destiny was firm and unchangeable. What could the oracles have seen that they hadn't already seen?

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the door that led to their room. He was afraid to open it. Saray, equally bald, tattooed and muscular as the last time Nathanael had been there, gave him a slight pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, lad," she said and gave Nathanael an encouraging smile. "For what it's worth, Evah's the one who has the most to say this time. She's practically glowing with happiness."

Nathanael's eyes widened a little.

"... Really? But... I'm a-"

"Hey, stop worrying about what clan you're from," the manly woman said. "The oracles are never wrong."

With that, she opened the door and shoved him inside, almost causing him to fall. Nathanael would've preferred to make a more dignified entrance, but now that he was inside, he had more important things to worry about.

He turned around and let his gaze fall upon the two woman, sitting neatly on the couch. The black-haired looked cold and almost bored, but the blonde smiled warmly to him, and her ice-blue eyes shimmered with joy. Nathanael smiled weakly and bowed deep.

"Hello oracles."

"Hello prince Nathanael of the Dragulia clan," the replied in unison.

"You wished to speak with me?"

"You may rise," Annah, the younger, blackhaired one said.

"And yes, we did want to speak with you," Evah nodded and smiled to him. Nathanael swallowed and smiled back.

"About what?"

Annah and Evah glanced to each other and gave a nod before Evah, with a mysterious expression, picked up her thin pipe and brought it to her lips. When the smoke eventually flowed from her lips, the sisters proceeded in watching it intently for a little while, then turning back to Nathanael, who was already nervous enough to throw up.

"A long time ago," Annah started. "The Dragulia clan was cursed with loneliness. It was decided by the goddess Destiny that they would not be given soul mates."

"However," Evah continued. "The youngest son of the Dragulia clan has broken the laws of Destiny. And the goddess has given her approval."

"... What?" Nathanael breathed.

"Young one," Annah continued with a stern expression. "For all these years, I've watched the member of the Dragulias suffer for a mistake they did not commit. None of you have been given a soul mate. You've been alone for so long."

"But Destiny has been forced to rewrite your pages. You see, something that was not supposed to happen has happened. Someone who was never meant to become a vampire is on his way to get turned. Destiny did not see this coming. And that is why it is possible for you to have a soul mate."

Nathanael couldn't speak. He could only stare at Evah and her perfect, curly blonde hair, and her beaming smile.

"It will not be easy," Annah continued. "The boy was never meant to become a vampire. It will be very difficult for him to adapt. But with your help, he shall make it through."

"It is fully up to you, young prince," Evah said. "Ronald Weasley has forced Destiny to rewrite your pages. And that is exactly why it has now become possible for you to have a soul mate."

"... What are you saying?" Nathanael stared at Evah in complete disbelief. "You're saying that if I'm willing... Ron could be my...?"

"Soul mate. Yes." The sisters nodded. Evah was still beaming, and even Annah seemed to have adopted a softer expression to her otherwise empty face.

"Nothing is decided. If Ron decides not to be with you, then it is his choice," Annah said.

"But if you treat him well, with respect and tenderness, your lonely days shall come to an end," Evah concluded.

And with that, the sisters closed their eyes. The vision and the conversation was over.

* * *

Nathanael had made his way back to Ron's room, and was now facing the dilemma of remembering how to open a door. He was too shocked to think. He couldn't even remember how he got back. And he didn't know if he should feel sad or happy.

Probably the latter.

Obviously the latter.

"Holy shit..." Nathanael whispered to himself and placed a hand over his mouth as his eyes went big and wide. "How the hell is it possible?"

He had felt the warmth between him and Ron. It had been there from the start, but Nathanael hadn't understood what was so different about Ron. What was so different and amazing about a normal human boy with red hair and freckles?

Nathanael's chest ached a little. He didn't know how to handle this. What should he do? Was it possible for him to love Ron? Maybe he already did? What did Ron feel?

_All my life I've been told that I'll never get to be with someone I love, because my family is cursed. Now they tell me that Ron could be my soul mate? How the hell am I supposed to respond to that!_

Nathanael was too shocked and had too many things to process. He couldn't decide yet. He needed to see Ron. Talk to him, act like everything was normal. Maybe then he'd be able to make up his mind.

So with gritted teeth, Nathanael reach for the doorknob and opened the door to Ron's room.

What he saw was not what he had expected.

A groan of frustration almost escaped him. He realized what was going on at once.

Ron wasn't alone. Draco, Blaise and Harry were there. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut, and Nathanael brought a hand up to his forehead.

"Shit."

Ron turned to him, pale and clammy, with large eyes.

"Did you know about this?"

"... I told them about the tests," Harry muttered and dragged a hand through his hair. Draco and Blaise were gripping each other's hands tightly, the blonde tucking himself under Blaise's chin.

"I figured," Nathanael sighed and turned to Ron with a serious expression. "Yes. I knew about it. We all had to take them when we were young, Ronald."

Exhausted tears welled up in Ron's eyes, and Nathanael grit his teeth at the sight.

"You mean to tell me... That even though I've been working this hard just to be able to walk, so that I can get physically turned into something not-human... that's not all? I have to take three tests? And if I fail. What the fuck is going to happen to me if I fail, huh?" The words were mere whispers at the end, and tears spilled over, but Ron's expression never changed. Pure shock. That's what it was.

Nathanael stared back at him and took a deep breath.

"You don't have to worry about it-"

"I don't have to worry about it?" Ron hissed back, fury making its' way into his shimmering eyes. "If I get thrown out, I'll have no place to go! It's not like I can return to my human family. I'll have fangs and stuff. And they hate me. What the fuck, Nathanael! Why didn't you tell me?"

The hurt, broken tone in his voice jerked Nathanael into action. The vampire prince walked up to Ron's bed and placed a strong, safe hand on Ron's shoulder. The teen trembled under the gentle pressure but the anger seemed to subside. Nathanael gave him a serious look before he spoke.

"Don't worry. You'll pass. I'll make sure you pass."

_Cuz until I've figured out what the hell I'm going to do, I can't afford to lose you..._

tbc.

* * *

Tadaa! Please review, even though I know I suck and half of you are super pissed at me for taking so long. I'm not feeling well, and I'm sorry. Reviews make me happy, though. ^^


	27. Chapter 25

I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, except my OC's (Trenton, Nathanael, etc. I'd like to think I own Dracula, but I honestly don't! xD)

I am SO sorry for making you guys wait this long! Honestly, I've been so caught up in school and other personal matters that I didn't even realize it's been MONTHS since I updated Possess Me. Shame on me, goddamnit! Been having a bit of a writer's block, too. But I'll do my very best to revive this story. I also recommend you re-read some of the previous chapters. :) I wouldn't be surprised if most of you have forgotten half of the story already.

Btw - bloody hell, I have more than 1000 reviews! :'D Oh my god, you have no idea how honored I am. Thank you so much for your support and your kind words. I honestly don't think I deserve them, since I'm always so friggin late and all, but I want you to know that it means a lot to me.

Let's continue. ;) Here we go. The much anticipated 25th chapter.

(I dedicate this chapter to **Milarvamp**, whose review greatly amused this exhausted author. Trust me, I needed it - a proper kick in the butt.)

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Nathanael kept his hand extended, in case Ron felt the need to grab it in order not to fall. Ron gave him a weak smile and let out a sigh.

"Much better." He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. "I'm drained, but it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Good," Nathanael smiled and crossed his arms over his chest with a content sigh. "You'll probably only need a few more days to recover."

Ron nodded but the smile that graced his lips was somewhat distant. Nathanael frowned and cocked his head to the side.

"Nervous?"

Ron blinked and sent Nathanael a look of utter confusion.

"Huh?"

"Are you nervous?" Nathanael repeated with a chuckle.

Ron paused, staring at Nathanael for a few seconds, before allowing a hesitant smile to grace his lips.

"I... suppose. Isn't that normal?"

"To be honest, I wouldn't know," Nathanael gave a regretful sigh. "I never had to go through the change. I was born this way."

"Lucky you."

"Not really."

They went silent, engulfed in their own thoughts. Nathanael glanced at the redhaired boy in front of him. Moonlight played over Ron's freckled face, brown eyes gazing at the floor. His copper colored hair took on a darker, richer red. The vampire prince allowed himself a soft smile. Such a young, pure human. The fact that Ronald Weasley could, possibly, be the person he was going to guard over, take care of and maybe even _love_ was something that Nathanael had yet to grasp. The concept was simply too alien. Ever since he was a child, he'd always known that his family was cursed. That unlike other vampires, they were doomed to spend eternity alone.

So the possibility of getting a soul mate wasn't only foreign - it was also somewhat frightening.

Nathanael had had male lovers before. Brief relationships, of course, but sleeping with a man was something Nathanael was familiar with. It was quite enjoyable, too. He had never really understood was sexual preferences meant. One of his friends, Charity, has once been human. Now she was one of Trenton's most trusted assistants. She had once told Nathanael that sexuality mattered less after she became a vampire. What mattered these days was the pleasure she got from being close to another body. Simple, intimate contact.

Strange.

But it made Nathanael curious about what Ron liked. Would his preferences change after being turned?

"Nathanael?" Ron waved a hand in front of Nathanael's face, and the prince jerked as he returned to the present.

"Hm? Yes?"

"You were spacing out." Ron grinned, as if incredibly amused by this. Nathanael snorted and gave Ron an amused smirk.

"So were you, just a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, whatever," Ron chuckled. "Should we continue?"

"You're not tired?"

He certainly looked tired. Nathanael noticed the strain in Ron's smile and the dark shadows under his eyes.

"Nope."

"Liar."

"Hey, as long as I can stand up, I can go on." Ron was getting annoyed. Yet another sign of his fatigue. Nathanael sighed.

"Are you frustrated because Draco is ahead of you?"

"No." Ron frowned at the floor. "Yes. Shut up."

"Figures..." Nathanael held his hand up and started walking slowly, gesturing for Ron to continue. The redhead maintained his annoyed frown for a couple of seconds before starting to walk next to Nathanael, hissing a bit as his muscles began working again.

"That git."

"Yes, only a bastard would ever have the nerve to recover faster than you. I mean, that's just low." Nathanael smirked amusedly, earning himself a grouchy glare.

"Stop being a dick. He's bragging about it," Ron muttered. "He can even jog now. He was kind enough to show it off yesterday."

"Well, we'll just have to make sure you catch up," Nathanael sighed. "You want me to break one of his legs?" He added jokingly. Ron scoffed.

"Yup. That would make me feel loads better."

Nathanael quirked an eyebrow and turned to Ron with a surprised grin.

"You're strangely cruel sometimes, aren't you?"

"I have my moments."

Suddenly, Ron winced with pain and shot his hand out to grab Nathanael's, but one of his legs gave out, and before either of them realized what had happened, Nathanael had Ron's body pressed up against the wall. Ron gave a short gasp and turned to stare at Nathanael. Nathanael stared back, counting the seconds that went by. Blood filled Ron's cheeks. Nathanael could smell it.

_Oh... Delicious. _

"T-thanks," Ron stuttered, effectivly breaking the intimate moment, and Nathanael snapped out of his daze, realizing the soft thumping in his temples. He frowned and turned away from Ron.

That was weird. His vampric instincts never kicked in that fast. He usually knew how to keep it under control.

"Your eyes look black," Ron murmured quietly, and Nathanael noticed the change in the human's breathing. Heavier, thicker. Alluring and sweet, and it tugged almost forcefully on the vampire prince's senses, making his skin prickle with a faint spark of arousal, and his eyes heated up with blackness. Nathanael managed a shaky smile and took a step away from Ron.

"They do?" He asked, trying to sound calm. Ron nodded and swallowed, slightly out of breath.

"Harry told me what that means."

Nathanael tensed.

"Yeah?" Nathanael said, voice teetering nervously. The last thing he wanted right now was to freak Ron out. But the redhead's mouth twitched into an unsteady smile and a teasing quirk of his eyebrow.

"Yup. It means that you're hungry, doesn't it?"

_Thank god. _

"Right..." Nathanael sighed with relief. "Uh... don't worry, I won't bite you or anything." Wow, now that came out splendidly intelligently. Ron gave a huff of laughter, their previous intimate moment apparently forgotten.

"I'm not worried. But since I'm getting tired, and you're getting hungry, I say we call it a day."

"I agree."

* * *

Ron gave Nathanael a grateful nod and closed the door behind the vampire prince before staggering to bed. Once he'd tucked himself in, Ron finally allowed the small shivers he'd been supressing to dance over his back. He brought a hand to his mouth and stared into the darkness of his bedroom with wide, shocked eyes.

What the hell? What the HELL?

Ron allowed himself to remember the feel of Nathanael pressing him up against the wall, the strong hands supporting his back, and the long hair tickling his neck. The rich, musky scent pouring over him. The intense gaze.

The young Weasley found himself slipping into a daze as he curled into himself, cheeks glowing red. Even if he desperately wanted to deny it, he'd been attracted to that gaze. To those hands. To that scent. Ron, who rarely thougth about such things, realized with startled confusion, that his chest - and more importantly his crotch - stirred with unexplored sensations. Something about Nathanael made Ron want to...

Ron gritted his teeth with shame as he felt his nipples slowly tense up, and before he could stop himself, he'd already let his hand wander south, teasingly massaging the area around his sex. His body was so exhausted, yet he couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop. Warmth washed over him as he buried his head into the soft pillow and closed his eyes, imagining Nathanael's eyes upon him. Nathanael's hands on his body. Ron shuddered, swallowed the lump of embarrassment, and finally slipped his hands under his pants.

_Merlin, it's actually... hard..._

Insecure, clumsy fingers wrapped around the length and gave a hesitant stroke, almost immediately dragging a silent groan from him. The hand over Ron's mouth pressed harder against the parted lips as his hand eagerly continued stroking the rapidly hardening cock. His toes twitched and arched as his body tensed up with desire and he parted his legs slightly, hand speeding up.

_What's... going on with me?_

Images of a certain vampire prince flooded his mind and Ron gasped when the thought of having Nathanael touch him made a fresh wave of arousal course through him. Trapped in a spell of lust, Ron stopped trying to understand what was happening. Instead, he became increasingly desperate to feel more. And the images of Nathanael steadily took a new direction. One that would made Ron blush with shame later on.

He imagined grinding limbs tangled up in each other, and a strong, warm chest moving powerfully above him as Nathanael rocked against him, creating delicious friction between their crotches.

Ron rolled over to his back and parted his legs more widely, eyes firmly closed. He was delirious, completely out of it, caught in a dizzy, wonderful daze. He couldn't recall ever feeling that turned on before.

Images of Nathanael's hand dragging over his sides, setting on his hips, thrusting harder... Ron started trembling and his mouth fell open, releasing soft, humid pants. The hand that had previously covered his mouth darted to one of his nipples, and he started rubbing it through the fabric of his shirt. The sensation it brought him made his head roll back and strain against the pillow.

And then, completely unbidden and shocking, Ron started thinking about what it would feel like to have Nathanael inside of him. A startled gasp escaped him, quickly followed by a moan, as the mere thought of it sent Ron into a searing frenzy of heat. His back arched, and to his dazed bafflement, he could _feel_ his forbidden entrance... _twitch_. Had Ron been a tad more aware of what he was doing, he would've punched himself for being such a perverted freak.

But Ron wasn't altogether aware of what he was doing.

So when the hand that had been teasing his nipple slowly danced south, trembling fingers making their way to Ron's backside, he allowed it. He didn't stop it. And the heated images of Nathanael moving above him and inside him kept playing, sending arousal to his blood like boiling honey, hypnotizing Ron until he could barely take it.

"Mmnh..!" Ron bit his lip dazedly as his fingers grazed the puckered opening, sending violent shudders through his spine.

_This is insane... How can this feel so good?_

A shocked gasp escaped him when he finally spasmed with orgasm, several white ropes spurting from his member, and he was left trembling helplessly. Warm waves of satisfaction washed over him.

"Holy shit," he croaked and shakily sat up, letting his gaze sweep over the room in search of something to wash himself off with. A bowl of water and a cloth was soon spotted next to Ron's nightstand, and he forced himself to leave the warm bed. After wiping himself clean and erasing most of the evidential flecks from his sheets, Ron crawled back to bed and released a sigh.

He was tired. Exhausted. Warm. Tingly. Confused.

"I'm a teenager," he muttered sleepily to himself. "Masturbation is a healthy part of growing up..." He cringed at how ridiculous he sounded. Besides, even though jerking off was normal to him... jerking off while thinking about a _man _was much less normal.

Ron frowned to himself and snuggled his pillow.

"Whatever," he yawned. It was just one time. He was probably just confused. And vampires did have a strong sexual aura. Ron was probably just affected by Nathanael's weird vampire pheromones. So it was alright. It didn't necessarily mean that he was _attracted_ to Nathanael. Right?

Eventually, the confused redhead fell asleep.

* * *

"Well done!" Harry cheered and slapped Ron on the back as the redhead has just managed to jog his way through the corridor. Ron managed a grin despite panting more than what would be considered normal after jogging fifteen meters.

"Thanks," he panted and straightened up, wiping small beads of sweat from his brow. "I feel like I'm getting stronger with each passing second," he said and leaned against the wall, allowing himself a quick breather. Harry nodded and offered Ron a sip from the black bottle of water he'd brought to their training session. Ron took it and greedily gulped down the cold water.

Harry watched his thirsty friend with an amused glint in his green eyes, but couldn't help but to start wondering about why, exactly, _he_ was the one helping Ron recover, and not Nathanael. The previous day, Harry and said young vampire prince had had a brief but quite comprehensive conversation, during which Nathanael had convinced Harry to take over his role as Ronald's coach. Harry didn't know why on earth Nathanael was so keen on abandoning his mission, but he also knew that Nathanael had reasons. No matter how much the prince liked to act as if he was a selfish prick - much like his older brothers - he simply wasn't.

"Harry?" Ron gave Harry a curious look and gave the nearly empty bottle back. "What's the matter?"

Harry shook his head and forced himself to smile.

"Nothing," he said. "Just pondering a little..."

"Hm? About what?" Ron said while stretching his legs out with a somewhat pained hiss.

"Well," Harry begun and sent Ron a slight smirk. "A lot of things are about to happen. You guys are getting turned! Aren't you nervous?"

Ron froze for a moment and glanced at Harry.

"Yes. I'm nervous... Or rather, I'm scared shitless, but hey... nothing I can do about it now, is there?" He chuckled dryly. "This is my only chance. I can't go back."

Harry stared at Ron, concern pinching his green orbs. Ron noticed, and shook his head.

"I'm fine, Harry. It's normal to be nervous. Besides..." he trailed off and his gaze went to the moon on the other side of the large windows. "Nathanael said he was going to make sure I pass. He promised."

"Nathanael isn't one to break his promises," Harry said and put a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder. Ron smiled but didn't turn to Harry.

"Where is he?" He asked, trying to sound casual, but Harry detected the hint of uncertainty in Ron's voice. "Why isn't he here?"

Harry's brows knitted close as he scrambled for a lie to tell Ron, since he didn't want to tell the redhead that he honestly had no idea why Nathanael was suddenly so reluctant to train with him.

"Well... Nathanael is royal," he started, words coming out slowly. "He has a lot of important business to take care of, see?"

"Royal..." Ron sighed. "I never knew that vampires had monarchies."

"There's a lot you don't know about vampires," Harry said teasingly. Ron chuckled and gave a nod.

"True that."

"Besides, those are just titles. Dracula is one of the twenty-something vampire kings in our world. It doesn't really mean that he is actually a king. Just that he's really powerful, and that we should respect him, since he's one of the oldest vampires existing right now. Nathanael was given the title 'prince' because he's Dracula's son, obviously, and also because he's a pure-breed. It grants him certain powers that other vampires don't have," Harry explained, figuring he might as well start teaching Ron certain things about their world, since he was about to become part of it.

Ron hummed and pushed away from the wall.

"Cool."

Harry grinned at Ron's laid-back attitude and lack of awe.

"Shall we continue?"

Ron nodded and started walking down the corridor, steps light and back held straight. Harry watched him work and gave words of encouragement and approval. Ron fought hard. Harry respected him for it. He never had to fight that hard. Granted, it hadn't been a walk in the park for him either, but he never had to deal with the kind of nervousness he knew that Ron was currently undergoing. Nor did he have to endure a painful physical rehabilitation afterwards.

Nathanael had already given his word that he'd make Ron pass, but even if the smug vampire prince intended to break his promise - which Harry highly doubted - Ron would pass. Because if Nathanael didn't make sure of it, Harry most certainly would.

* * *

Three days had passed since Nathanael's last training session with Ron. He'd begged Harry to take over, because he honestly didn't trust himself anymore. One whiff of Ron's blood through his pale human skin had reduced Nathanael to a puddle of need, and he wouldn't allow that to happen again.

The young vampire prince stopped pacing and took a sip from his glass. The lion blood calmed him down enough to release a sigh and relax his stiff shoulders. He put the glass down on his nightstand and headed for his wardrobe. Opening the elegant wooden doors revealed a great amount of beautiful robes, and Nathanael picked out a dark green one. After having changed, he tied his hair in a black ribbon and was just about to leave his bedroom when a knock came on the door.

"Nathanael?" Trenton called before letting himself in. "I trust I'm not interrupting anything?"

"No," Nathanael smiled. "I was just about to leave. And you're here because..?"

"Oh, lovely," the older vampire grinned, showing off his pointy fangs. "Actually, one of the human boys seems to be ready for his transformation, so I was wondering how the other one is doing. You're the one in charge of his training, aren't you?"

"Ron, yes. Well, actually..." Nathanael hesitated. "I asked Harry to train with him for the last two days. I've been... busy with... things," he finished lamely. Trenton quirked an eyebrow.

"Such as?"

"Uh... Well, I've been... Uh..."

_Say something! Say you've been busy watching the bloody moon! Anything!_

"Nathanael?" A new voice came from the door, and Nathanael had never been more happy to see Harry before. The young vampira magika entered the room with a curious smile. "And Trenton? What are you doing here?"

"A check up, my boy," Trenton exclaimed happily and patted Harry's shoulder. "Nathanael tells me that you've been helping that red-haired human to recover. Is it going well?"

Harry nodded and put his hands into the pockets of his jeans, which earned himself a strange look from Trenton - human fashion was simply beyond him.

"Yes, actually, that's what I came to tell you. Ron's more or less fully recovered now. He's exhausted, of course, but that's to be expected, right?"

The older vampires nodded and Nathanael couldn't help but asking;

"Where is he now?"

"He's sleeping," Harry replied. "We've been working non-stop since yesterday. He can run and jump and everything now." Harry grinned. "So... I think he's ready."

"Splendid!" Trenton clapped his hands in excitement and headed for the door. "I'll tell some of the members of the council to get ready."

"I think Ron needs to rest for a little while," Harry protested, and the older vampire nodded impatiently.

"Naturally, young master Potter. I'm no fool. I'll let him sleep tonight, as I'm convinced that he needs it. But tomorrow is going to be a big day. We all need to make preparations for what's next."

"Which is..?" Nathanael asked, feeling nervously numb. Trenton chuckled, paying no attention to the fact that Nathanael had gone pale - even more so than what was considered natural for someone of his species.

"That you turn the lad into a vampire, of course," he said and left the room with an elegant wave. "I'll see you in a tomorrow then!"

Nathanael stared after their excited house master for a few seconds, letting the information sink in.

"It's really happening," Harry mumbled, and a wide grin spread over his young face, making Nathanael understand why Tom adored the boy so bloody much. Harry's green eyes sparkled with excitement. "I need to go and make preparations. You should, too. I've heard that it's supposed to be really exhausting for a vampire to turn someone over."

Nathanael could only nod, and as soon as Harry had left him alone, he sat down on his bed, fisting the blank sheets while staring straight ahead with wide eyes.

_It's really happening..._

He was about to turn a human into a vampire. He'd never done that before. And it wasn't just any human. It was Ronald Weasley. The boy he'd been secretly craving for the last couple of weeks. A nervous smile played at the corners of his mouth, and Nathanael straightened his slumping shoulders before standing up.

Now was not the time to be nervous. He needed to focus. And get ready. Tomorrow was going to be of great importance, and he didn't want to screw it up.

* * *

"Are you nervous?" Blaise asked quietly and kissed Draco's neck. The couple was standing in front of a window, Blaise positioned behind Draco in order to hold him from behind. Draco nodded and leaned closer against the taller boy.

"Of course I am. You?"

"Yes."

Draco absentmindedly caressed Blaise's arms with pale fingers and watched the stars twinkle outside the window.

"We've been waiting for this, but now that it's finally happening... I feel like I'm not ready for it yet."

"I know what you mean," Blaise murmured against his neck. "I've always known that I have the vampiric virus in me... It just never occurred to me that I'd actually get the chance to be turned one day."

Draco nodded and entwined his fingers with Blaise's.

"Think we'll be alright?"

He could feel Blaise smile against his neck.

"Naturally." Blaise turned him around and leaned in close, mingling their breaths. Draco's eyes glowed in the dark as Blaise's hands went south to firmly grope his ass. "We'll be alright, baby. We were unstoppable as humans. Imagine how awesome we'll be as vampires."

Draco smirked at that and leaned in to kiss Blaise. The kiss was slow and sultry and the boys poured all of their insecurities into it, comforting each other and smoothing it out with nervous reassurance. It was enough to calm them down. They eventually separated and bumped their foreheads together as they stared at each other, all traces of false confidence gone. No more smirks. They just held onto one another.

"How can I argue with that?" Draco whispered.

* * *

Ron sank into the warm water with a content sigh and closed his eyes as his sore limbs thankfully accepted the warmth enveloping him. He'd been training practically non-stop with Harry for the past two days, and he's regained almost all of his past strength. Although it still hurt like a bitch when he ran, it didn't matter. He could run again, and that was all that mattered. The pain would go away eventually.

Ron opened his eyes and gazed lazily at his knees that had decided to stay above the surface, like two skin-colored islands. The warm water made his skin flushed, and if he focused hard enough, he could almost feel the blood rushing through his veins.

After he turned vampire, would it change? Would he be able to feel blood in his veins? He didn't know anything about what kind of physical changes he'd undergo, except growing fangs.

He'd turn paler, of course. Having freckles would definitely be a pain, he realized with a grumpy sigh.

... Harry was definitely more attractive than he'd been before. Would that happen to him, too? Or would Ron remain the ugly duckling?

The redhead sighed and slid further into the elegant bathtub, until the warm water bobbed against his chin.

Was this the right choice?

Of course it was. Ron couldn't go back there. He couldn't go back to them. He'd rather die...

Ron gave a tired chuckle at that. Oh, the irony. Thinking he'd rather die than go back there, when he was, in fact, about to die. Vampires are dead beings, after all. Or... _un_dead. It was all very confusing.

Would he enjoy the taste of blood?

Ron stilled in the water and turned his gaze to the dark ceiling.

It didn't matter. He needed to be confident. There was no going back after this, and quite frankly, he was already trapped between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't go back to the human world, so he didn't have a choice.

But damnit, he was scared. What if he'd be a total outcast? He didn't know anything about vampires. Back when he was still a student at Hogwarts, he'd studied Vampires once in a while, and while they fascinated him, he'd never thought of them as anything but a bunch of dead people who enjoyed drinking blood.

Apparently, there was so much more to it than just drinking blood.

Harry and Vol- Tom... they seemed to have an incredibly deep connection with each other, and he'd overheard some vampires talking about how they were soul mates. Ron faintly wondered, and hoped, that he would find one, too.

_"Turning someone like you into a vampire is like pissing on Destiny's plans. It won't be easy."_

Ron recalled Nathanael's word, and they felt like a cold hand squeezing his heart. Would it even be possible to live the rest of his life as a vampire? He wasn't meant to be one, after all. So getting a soul mate was probably impossible.

Impossible...

Two sharp knocks came from the door, and Ron flinched out of his dark thoughts, causing some of the water to spill over the edge of the bathtub.

"What?" He called shakily, turning to the door with an annoyed frown.

"It's me," Harry's voice said from the other side of the door and Ron relaxed. "I know you're bathing, but I was wondering if I could come inside?"

"... Uh, yeah," Ron said and made grabbed a towel to cover himself up with, knowing how ridiculous he was being, seeing as they had inevitably seen each other naked on several occasions during their time at Hogwarts. "Come on in."

Harry entered the bathroom with a small smile, cast a careful glance at Ron and relaxed when he saw that Ron was hiding behind a towel.

"Hey, I just wanted to... Talk to you about what's going to happen tomorrow," Harry said and took a seat on a stool next to the sink. Ron blinked and nodded.

"Okay, yeah... That sounds good. Shoot."

Harry crossed his leg over the other in an elegant motion and leaned his elbow on his knee.

"Well, first off... You'll have to endure a quick but pain-free cleansing ceremony," Harry explained. "Tom told me all about it. It's because you guys aren't just random humans that some crazy vampire decided to turn in the spur of the moment. The three of you are special, not only to me, but also due to the fact that you are actually planning to stay here, in Trenton's house, so... He wants to clean away your humanity, so to speak. His house, his rules," the raven said with an embarrassed grin. "It's difficult to explain, cuz... I honestly didn't fully understand it when Tom explained it to me. But as I said, it's pain-free, and you won't feel a thing. It's just a ceremony."

Ron chuckled.

"So far so good."

"Yeah..." Harry's grin faded away, although he was obviously trying to maintain it. "Um... After that, you'll all be placed in separate chambers, since the turning process itself is very intimate and intense, and you wouldn't want to do it in a room full of people watching you. But you don't have to worry - we'll be waiting right outside, and if your turner is about to lose control, we'll be there to help."

Ron could feel his blood draining from his face.

"L-lose control?"

Harry gave Ron a comforting smile.

"That won't happen."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because your turner is Nathanael."

Ron froze and stared at Harry.

"He is?"

"I thought you knew," Harry said with a quirked eyebrow. "Since you received his blood, and since the two of you have been spending time together while you were recovering, he was the best choice. Nathanael is strong, and even though he's never turned a human before, he knows how to control himself. Is that a problem?"

"No... No, it's not," Ron said and tried to relax his shoulders. Forbidden images that Ron had desperately fought to forget invaded his mind. Nathanael caressing his skin. Nathanael pressing against him. Nathanael hovering above him. Nathanael thrusting against him-

"Good," Harry said and effectively interrupted Ron's shameful daydreams. The fact that Ron had a towel to hide behind was something he was immensely grateful for as he felt waves of arousal rushing towards his groin. "Since the two of you kind of know each other, I figured you'd be comfortable with him."

Ron nodded stiffly. Harry continued, this time looking more serious.

"The next part will be painful. I'm not gonna lie to you, Ron. I thought it'd be possible for the three of you to be turned the way I did, but that's only possible for Blaise. You and Draco may have the vampiric virus in your veins now, but it hasn't synched with your DNA, so you'll have to do it the way normal humans do it."

"Which means?" Ron said, and resented himself for the way his voice croaked.

"I don't know if you remember, but I wasn't turned the traditional way. I drank Tom's blood beforehand, which is only possible because we're both vampira magikas, and because he is my mate. Drinking his blood was painful, but once Nathanael bit me, it all happened very fast. Unfortunately, this is impossible for you and Draco." Harry frowned. "So basically, what's going to happen is that Nathanael will bite you and drink your blood, which in itself is painful. After that, you'll have to drink his blood. It should only take a little while for your body to start changing, and this is where the real pain starts..."

Ron paled even more and hugged his knees closer. Harry swallowed before he went on.

"Your body will reject your human DNA, your human blood, while at the same time it's trying to reject Nathanael's vampire blood. So it's going to hurt. But vampire blood is much stronger than human blood, so eventually, your human DNA will lose, and you'll turn into a vampire."

"And... This process will take like... an hour?" Ron glanced to Harry, silently begging his friend to confirm this. But Harry shook his head.

"No... It usually takes about three or four hours before the transformation is complete. We won't be able to sedate you, because that might disturb the delicate transformation."

Ron chuckled without amusement.

"So my best hope is that I naturally pass out from the pain, then?"

Harry chuckled, too.

"Yep."

"Sounds like fun."

Harry gave Ron a concerned look.

"It'll be alright, mate. Just endure those few hours, and after that, everything will change. For the better, I'm positive."

Ron nodded and gave his friend a smile.

"I'll be fine."

"Yeah."

The two boys sat silent for a little while, before Ron piped up again, letting curiosity take over.

"Harry, do you think that..." He hesitated and sent Harry an embarrassed look. Harry cocked his head to the side.

"Hm?"

"Do you think it's possible for me to find a... uh, mate?" He finished off with an uncertain chuckle. "I mean, you and... _Tom... _seem to belong together..."

Harry watched Ron silently as the red-haired teen tried to find the right words.

"I just... Merlin, I sound like a sap, but spending eternity alone doesn't seem like much fun." Ron shrugged, trying to mask his embarrassment, but Harry saw through it.

"I honestly don't know," Harry said and rubbed the back of his head. "Me and Tom have always belonged together. Destiny decided it, so it was inevitable for us. You weren't supposed to be a vampire, so I don't know. But at the same time, there are plenty of pre-human vampires in this world who don't have soul mates. You'll find someone to love, I'm sure," Harry said, firing off a beaming grin. Ron smiled back.

"Maybe." He turned his gaze to his knees. "Do you love him?"

He hadn't planned to ask that questions, but his mouth had a will of its own, it seemed. Harry went silent for a few seconds, and Ron could feel his gaze boring into him. When he finally mustered up enough courage to look at Harry, the dark haired teen smiled softly.

"Yeah, I love him," Harry said with a nod. "At first, what we had was nothing but lust. But eventually, it changed. I honestly don't know if I would be able to live without him."

The honesty in those words made Ron flush. He wasn't used to talking about love. And he definitely wasn't used to hearing Harry say such emotional truths. Back at Hogwarts, they would sometimes have brief and awkward conversations about girls that they liked, but it had never been like this. Harry didn't even seem fazed by it.

"Oh." Ron didn't know what to say other than that.

Harry gave a dark smirk, which made him look more Slytherin-ish than ever.

"Naturally, we still have loads of lust... You wouldn't _believe_ what that man does to me while the rest of you are sleeping-"

"Gods, shut up!" Ron laughed and splashed water against his best friend. "I don't want to hear about your weird man-on-man sex!"

Harry gave a smug chuckle and left the stool.

"Fine, be that way, you sissy." He headed for the door, but turned around before he reached it. "Just... Don't worry about tomorrow, yeah?" He smiled confidently to Ron. "It'll be fine."

TBC.

* * *

Whew, okay... I'm really not as content as I would like to be, but this will have to do, cuz let's face it - I've let you guys wait for half a year! Enough is enough. :)

Please review if you feel like it! ^^

NEXT CHAPTER: The time has finally come for three human boys to transform into something entirely different. ;) Stay tuned.


	28. Chapter 26

I don't own Harry Potter. D'uh. I do, however, own Trenton and Nathanael, and any character in this piece of fiction that's not from the original works by J.K.R. Except for Dracula. He belongs to everyone. ;)

A/N:  
**I'M ALIVE!** :'D  
... And I don't know how to even BEGIN apoligizing for making you wait this long. It's been over a year since the last time I updated, and I certainly don't blame you for being angry/irritated/disappointed in me. Heck, I'm sure many of my previous readers don't even remember this story. Trust me when I say, I'm ashamed of myself. How dare I call myself an author? :(

A_ lot's_ happened to me over the past year. I'm not going to bore you with every detail, but I had plans, and I needed to make those plans my number 1 priority.

Those plans have now been achieved; I've finally moved to Japan, I'm going to a Japanese language school, and despite the crazy amount of homework they give us every day, I finally have enough time on my hands to work on this.

Again, I sincerely apoligize.

To my new readers: Hello, and welcome to my insanity. Thank you for the encouraging reviews. Means a lot. :)  
To my old readers: Sorry for making you wait. You know I love you guys. I'll try to be a better author from now on.

(Also, I'd like to apoligize beforehand for any spelling/grammar error I might have made in this chapter. I don't have a beta right now, and my usual beta-program isn't installed on my new laptop yet. I'm Swedish, y'know. My english aint perfect. So yeah. Enjoy! :D)

**Chapter 26**

* * *

Ron stared at the ceiling. Unblinking, dazed by his own thoughts, only half-asleep, and with a pounding heart, he stared at the dark surface until his vision blurred and his eyes started to sting.

The insanity of it all was starting to dawn on him, and he wasn't handling it as well as he would have liked. His body was thudding with every heartbeat, and his mouth felt dry.

Panic coursed through him.

In just a few hours, the cleansing ceremony would begin, and thus, Ron would take his first step into becoming one of them. The vampires. The blood-suckers. Killers. Undead. Demons.

Swallowing his neausea, Ron slowly sat up in his bed and turned to the window. The moon gleamed coldly at him. It didn't give a fuck.

With trembling hands, Ron pushed his blanket away and swung his legs over the edge of his matress. He'd been trying, without success, to fall asleep for the past three hours. Although he was exhausted enough to cry, sleep wouldn't come to him.

Restless as he was, Ron stood up and started to pace. Back and forth, he circled his bedroom, until the pacing itself made him feel even more restless than before.

How had he ended up being here? He certainly hadn't planned this.

Just a few months ago, Ron's main goal was to get good enough grades to get a decent job, marry a girl he fancied, get kids, teach them the fine art of quiddich, and live a normal, happy life.

And then everything changed.

If someone had told him back then, that he would soon find himself in another dimension, in a vampire's castle, facing the dangerous transformation of becoming one of them, he would've laughed and told them to pay a visit to S:t Mungus's department for the mentally ill.

This was insanity.

Ron sighed and dragged a sweaty palm over his face before putting his nightrobe on and leaving his room. If laying still in his bed didn't work, maybe a quick walk around the castle would. Anything to ease his mind. To calm him down.

Red eyes flashed before his mind before he could help it, and Ron paused.

Nathanael.

Why? Ron frowned.

Craving calmness, Ron thought of Nathanael. Him, of all people? The very person who would soon bite his neck, drink his blood and turn him?

The vampire prince? The son of Dracula himself?

No. Nathanael was more than that. He had become more than that to Ron.

He was the person who had patiently trained with him. Helped him regain his strength. Supported him through... all this madness.

But Ron hadn't seen Nathanael in several days.

Ron closed his eyes tightly and pressed his lips together to stifle the sob that fought to leave him.

He was scared. There was no denying that.

Fear would normally make him want to hide away. Lock himself in his room. Refuse contact. Get angry. Try to protect himself.

But tonight, Ron wanted someone to comfort him. Tell him that everything would be fine. He wanted to bury his face into a familiar chest, close his eyes, and breathe. That was all he wanted. But even something as simple as that, he was denied. Because Nathanael wasn't there.

Maybe, Ron thought bitterly to himself, he'd become a burden to the vampire prince. The royal one. The bastard.

"Bastard," he whispered, tasted the word, and finally allowed himself to feel angry. He felt so angry in fact, that his eyes throbbed. Stung. Blurred. "_Bastard!_" Leaning against the stone wall, Ron curled into himself and put a trembling fist against the wall.

Nathanael abandoning him had hurt him more than he'd realized.

Training with Harry hadn't been bad. Harry cared about him, Ron knew that. But that dind't change the fact that right now, Harry was being held by Tom, comforted by the older man, shushed into slumber, smothered with kisses.

And Ron was alone.

It wasn't fair.

Ron enjoyed spending time with Nathanael. He enjoyed talking to him, laughing with him, training with him...

Nathanael should have been there, with Ron, at that moment, holding him close and calming him down. Because Ron trusted Nathanael.

How, exactly, these feelings of trust had developed, Ron wasn't sure. He didn't know why he always felt calmed by Nathanael's presence. He didn't know why he felt safe with him. But he did. And now, when Ron needed him the most, Nathanael wasn't there anymore.

It made Ron feel more helpless than ever before. Helpless and scared.

Ron pushed away from the wall with a frustrated sigh and hugged himself to stop the shivering as he continued walking down the corridor.

The castle was silent. Ron wasn't sure if he liked it or not. The silence made him feel lonely. And the irony that everyone else was asleep, while he, the main figure of tomorrow's event, strolled the castle like a restless ghost, was not beyond him. He was the one who needed the rest.

Ron blinked and cast a glance towards his feet. Realizing that he had started walking down the stairs to the third floor, Ron's first impulse was to turn around and walk back to his bedroom. The third floor was full of vampires that he didn't know, and didn't trust, and Ron had been told not to go down there alone.

Not every person in the castle was thrilled to have him there, after all. There had to be at least a few vampires who disagreed with the things that were about to happen. Some of them were probably angry about it.

So Ron turned around, but stopped just as he was about to take the first step.

Nathanael's bedroom was on the third floor.

Ron hesitated. He glanced down the stairs. He couldn't hear anything. And he didn't see anyone. Was it worth the risk?

It probably was, right? Ron chewed on his bottom lip for a few seconds. Nathanael was down there, somewhere. Perhaps sleeping, but Ron couldn't care less. The urge to see the older man grew stronger with each passing second. Not to mention the questions Ron wanted to ask.

His feet made the desicion for him. Carefully, as to not make too much noise, he walked down the stairs. When he reached the third floor, he took the dark corridor in. The moonlight provided him with enough light to make sure that he was, in fact, alone.

Ron swallowed, hugged himself even closer, and silently made his way to Nathanael's door.

He was going to knock, Ron thought to himself. He was going knock, and if Nathanael didn't open it up right away, he was going to continue knocking until said vampire let him in. That far he had planned ahead. Considering how he only had a few seconds to think about it, it was a fairly good plan, too.

After knocking, and being let inside, Ron would play it cool. He would casually ask why Nathanael hadn't trained with him lately. He was going to say something ice cold to make sure Nathanael knew how pissed off he was about it. Yeah, something really cool and really clever.

Then he would ask about what was going to happen tomorrow. Nathanael was the one who was going to turn him, after all. The prince ought to know all sorts of things.

Why hadn't Nathanael told him about it?

Ron's heart ached.

All these secrets. All the time.

Ron had already been standing outside Nathanael's door for a good minute before he finally put his hand against it. Not in a knocking way, however. Palm against wood. A caress.

Ron frowned and gritted his teeth. He was there! Just knock the door already!

He glared bitterly at his hand. It wouldn't obey. It continued stroking the surface of Nathanael's door like it was touching someone's cheek. Slowly, gently. Ron's heart ached even more.

And then, all of a sudden, the door opened. Ron's head snapped up, and he took a step back. Had the door opened by itself? Had he accidently preformed some sort of wandless magic? Should he close it again? Should he run away?

Ron's eyes were going wide with panic when Nathanael's face revealed itself behind the door, staring directly at him. Ron's already aching heart started pounding wildly.

Nathanael's hair fell over his shoulders in dark waves, dark eyes piercing Ron as he took the sight of the vampire prince in. Clad in an elegant black robe, Nathanael looked, more than ever, like a beautiful, frightening dream. Perfect, even when he wasn't trying to be.

"I thought I heard something," Nathanael said, voice hoarse. "What do you want?"

Ron felt as if he'd been slapped. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

He was supposed to knock the door, get inside, and demand answers. Not get treated like an annoying child. An eyesore. And the fact that Ron couldn't come up with anything even remotely cool or clever to say made it even worse. He just stared at Nathanael, gaping slightly.

Nathanael's eyebrow quirked.

"Are you sleepwalking?"

"No," Ron said quietly, relieved that he finally found his voice. "I was just..."

"... What?"

The cold tone of Nathanael's voice made it unbearable. Ron's mouth snapped shut, and when his eyes started stinging with angry tears, he turned his face away.

"Nothing. I'll go."

His feet wouldn't move. Ron made a frustrated noise at the back of throat. Every fiber in his body wanted to leave. Run back to his own bedroom. Punch something for making him feel so miserable. Cry. Hide. Sleep.

But he couldn't move.

Nathanael stared at him for a few seconds.

"You're still here."

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

Nathanael opened the door wider in order to cross his arms over his chest. And then he sighed. Ron flinched.

"Did you want to talk about something?"

Ron could only nod silently, still facing away from Nathanael and his harsh voice.

"Then talk."

Warm wetness spread over Ron's cheeks. The frustration spilled over.

"You're such a fucking bastard."

Nathanael hadn't expected that. The silence told Ron he hadn't. It wasn't cool, and it wasn't clever. But Ron enjoyed saying every syllable.

"... Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Ron said, voice somewhat collected, despite the inner turmoil he was experiencing.

"I did, but..."

"You don't think you deserve it?" Ron quickly swiped most of the tears away and turned to Nathanael with angry eyes. "I'll say it again."

Nathanael frowned but didn't say anything. That was fine. Ron would do the talking.

"I'm getting turned tomorrow. And guess what Harry told me? YOU'RE the one who'll be doing the turning. Funny how you never mentioned that."

"... You're angry because I'm the one who will turn you?"

"No, you idiot!" Ron snapped. "I'm angry because you never told me! I'm angry because you stopped training with me without telling me why! I'm angry because I haven't seen you in days!"

"Oh..." Nathanael seemed to be at a loss of words.

"_Oh?_ Really, that's all?" Ron continued, having bottled up both anger and frustration for several days. "What happens tomorrow is... I'm scared, okay? I'm terrified. And I wanted to talk to you about it. I trusted you. But you just left."

Nathanael's expression turned into a sadder one, but it didn't help.

"Ron, I'm so-"

"Did I do something? Am I offputting in any way?"

"It's not like that, I just... I-"

"Well, you certainly act like I am! I've been alone all this time!" Ron gritted out. "I thought you'd care. But you never showed up. You weren't there."

"Harry must have-"

"Harry isn't you! Harry has his own problems to deal with. He has Tom to rely on. And he wouldn't understand."

"What makes you so sure that I would?" Nathanael bit back, a bit harsher than Ron had expcted. "Huh? Why would I understand what you're about to go through?"

Ron stared at him, eyes wide and unblinking. Fresh tears resting on his lids. He didn't know what to say. Why would Nathanael understand? It was actually a good question. Why did Ron want Nathanael to be there for him so badly? Why was Harry not enough?

"I don't understand what it's like to be human, Ron." Nathanael sighed and turned his gaze to the floor. "I was born like this, remember? How could I possibly understand? What could I possibly do to help?"

"You could be with me. Listen to me. Talk to me." Ron sniffed and shifted his feet. "Look... I don't get it either. During the last few days, I... I just... wanted to see you."

Nathanael didn't reply to that, and Ron's tense shoulders finally sagged. Drained. Exhausted. Hurt. He turned to Nathanael with tired eyes.

"I'm going now."

This time his feet did obey him. He turned, and he started walking. But he didn't get far. Nathanael's hand grasped his wrist and turned him around.

"Don't." Nathanael suddenly seemed just as drained as Ron felt. "Don't... leave. Come inside."

Hesitatingly, Ron allowed Nathanael to lead him into the dark bedroom. The candlesticks next to the bed were almost burned out. So, Ron thought to himself, Nathanael couldn't have gotten that much sleep either.

Ron gaze went from the candles, to the bed with dark blue silk sheets, to the windows where the windowsills were adorned with vases full of red roses, to the elegant full-body mirror leaning against the wall. On the other side of the room, there was a small table with two comfortable looking armchairs. Ron took a seat on one of them, suddenly feeling nervous. Nathanael took a seat on the other one.

"I wanted to see you, too."

Ron turned to Nathanael with a glare.

"No, you didn't. You stayed away. If you wanted to see me, you could've seen me."

"I... I thought it was for the best," Nathanael sighed, and dragged a hand over his face.

"Well, it wasn't," Ron said, and realized with a sting of irritatoion that it made him sound like a pouting kid. "Why would you think that?"

Nathanael gave a joyless smile and leaned back against the chair, keeping his eyes away from Ron.

"It's complicated."

Ron sighed.

"I might be daft, but if you explain it slowly, I might understand," he said, words dripping with irritated sarcasm. But when Nathanael finally turned to look at him, expression gentle, eyes hurting, Ron's heart skipped a beat.

"You're so young..."

"Great, so now I'm stupid AND childish."

"That's not what I meant-"

"Then stop beating around the damn bush!" Ron stood up. "I'm here now. You asked me not to leave. So talk to me."

Nathanael stood up, too. Slowly, he made his way to Ron. Not being able to stop it, Ron felt his cheeks heating up. There was something in Nathanael's gaze that made him want to...

"Do you know what a vampire is?"

Ron swallowed nervously and tried not to notice the way Nathanael's robe fell over his broad chest.

"I... have a pretty good idea."

"And what do vampires do?"

"... You... Uh..."

Nathanael was close. Much too close. And not close enough. Ron's gaze flickered, until it finally landed on the floor, where it was safe.

"You... drink blood?"

"Mmh... And why do we drink blood?"

"Well, there's the issue of hunger, I suppose, but-" Ron rambled, feeling even more nervous when Nathanael's hand suddenly came up to caress his jaw, fingers dancing over skin, sliding towards Ron's neck.

"You really have no idea what you do to me," Nathanael whispered.

"What do I do?" Ron mumbled, heart poudning heavy in his chest, as the urge to touch Nathanael became too much. He placed a trembling hand on Nathanael's chest, marvelled at the way the vampire's muscles vibrated as he spoke.

"You drive me crazy."

Nathanael's lips danced over Ron's cheek, kissed it, wandered. Strong hands grasped Ron's hips to pull him closer, and Ron didn't do anything to stop him. Couldn't do anything.

Didn't want him to stop.

His pulse was already at its' peak, and every time Nathanael's cool lips touched his skin, it sent burning pleasure down his back, over his chest, until it settled in his groin, where it pulsated and glowed and almost burned him with passion.

A gasp escaped him, and he pressed closer to Nathanael, desperate to feel more. His hands were roaming over the vampire's chest, pulling on the black robe, and he whined with frustration when it wouldn't open.

And then Nathanael stopped, just as suddenly as he had started it. Panting, he grabbed Ron's shoulders and kept the teenager at arm's length. His head was bowed, and the black hair served as a curtain, hiding his face.

Ron stared confusedly at him, panting just as hard as Nathanael did, irritated that they weren't continuing. And then it struck him. What they had been doing...

Shocked and embarrassed, Ron swallowed hard and tried to calm himself down.

"Th-that was... Um..."

"That's what you do to me," Nathanael said, voice strained. "I don't trust myself around you. Everything about you is attractive to me."

"Wha-... Everything?" Ron asked carefully. Nathanael straightened up and took a step back, looking as if he was in pain.

"Yes. Everything. The way you look, the way you are... The way you speak, and the way you laugh... Your temper, your aura... Your scent. Everything is intoxicating to me."

Ron took a deep breath and made a final attempt at calming down.

"So... You're..."

"I'm not strong enough..." Nathanael sighed and took a seat again, leaning his elbows on his knees. "If I accidently bite you, before the ritual, everything would be ruined."

"B-bite me?"

Nathanael gave a weak smirk.

"Why do vampires drink blood?"

Ron didn't answer. Nathanael turned away from him before continuing.

"It's difficult to explain. You'll understand when you experience it yourself. Drinking blood is more than just feeding. Drinking from someone random is oviously nothing more than that. You eat. Because you need their life force. Their energy."

"... Go on." Ron took a seat on the floor in front of Nathanael, gently pressing the vamire to explain. Nathanael gave a pale smile.

"That's feeding. The more common way of drinking blood. But when you... When you..."

"When you care about someone?" Ron asked, keeping his voice even. Nathanael nodded.

"I suppose that's one way to put it. When you... care about someone, the act of drinking from that person becomes so much more than just feeding. It's an intimate and passionate way of sharing the energy. And passion is a strong force, Ron. I'm not always strong enough to fight it. Having you this close to me... Brings out certain traits that I don't want you to see yet. You're only human. You're frail. You're precious to me."

"You mean you can't... control yourself?"

"Yes. That's what I mean. I care about you, Ron. So much that I want to..." Nathanael went silent, tense, and kept his gaze firmly on the floor. He seemed to be ashamed.

"And that's why you stayed away?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to risk anything... I figured, I'd... Wait. Until it was time."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both engulfed in thoughts. Ron felt confused. Nathanael had stayed away from him, not because he didn't care about Ron, but the very contrary. It made him feel relieved. Happy, even. And it was doing odd things to his heart.

But Nathanael had a point - if, God forbid, Nathanael did lose control... what would happen? Would everything be ruined? And everything that Ron had been through so far would be a waste?

"It would be... great," Nathanael started, "if you and I didn't see each other until tomorrow."

"You want me to leave?" Ron asked quietly. It hurt. Seeing Nathanael's face for the first time in several days, and being asked to leave almost right away. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay.

"I didn't say I want you to leave," Nathanael said, just as quietly. "I just think it'd be best."

"You'll bite me if I don't leave?" Ron asked boldly. He gave Nathanael a hard, searching stare. "You'll drink my blood? Kill me?"

"... Ron, if I lose control, I don't know what'll happen."

"Then don't lose it," Ron said, sounding more confident than he felt. "I... I can't sleep. I want to stay here."

Nathanael started to shake his head, but Ron wouldn't let him.

"Just... Stay focused. You can do that, right? You're a prince."

"My royalty has nothing to do with how I control my thirst."

"Then... Okay, what if I slap you really hard if you start losing it?"

This was a strange conversation.

Nathanael did smile at that, however, and so did Ron.

"You can't sleep?"

Ron shook his head.

"I've been trying for hours. I'm too nervous."

"And you think you'd be able to sleep if you're here?"

It was an embarrassing question. Nathanael even had the nerve to smirk a little. Ron turned his blushing face away before answering.

"We don't know until we try."

Nathanael chuckled. His eyes were still full of worry, but eventually, he sighed.

"Fine."

"... Really?"

"Yeah. But... Just... Don't..." Obviously at war with himself, Nathanael gave a frustrated sigh and raked a hand through his hair. "Don't smell so nice."

Fighting the urge to laugh, Ron cleared his throat.

"I'll do my best."

"... If I lose control-"

"Slapping. Really hard."

Nathanael smiled, but took on a more serious expression.

"I'll kill myself if I hurt you."

"... Then don't hurt me."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, challenging each other to back out, Ron supposed. But neither gave in. And Nathanael gestured towards the bed.

"Go ahead."

Ron swallowed the lump of nervousness that gathered in his throat, and walked towards Nathanael's bed. The blue silk sheets looked inviting. He put a hand on the matress before climbing into the bed. The silk felt smooth and cool under his palm. It smelled like Nathanael.

Nathanael watched him get comfortable, before slowly following Ron onto the matress, keeping his distance. There was only one blanket, and Ron got most of it. Nathanael didn't seem to mind.

Drowsiness quickly washed over Ron's senses, and he yawned before turning to Nathanael, who was keeping his gaze firmly on the ceiling.

"Is... Is it going to hurt?"

"Which part?"

"The transformation, of course."

Nathanael smiled sarcastically.

"I'll bite your neck and drink your blood. I imagine it's not going to be painfree. Then again, I wouldn't really know. I've never done it before."

Ron pouted a little.

"... You're supposed to comfort me, you know."

"Would you prefer me lying to you?"

"Uh, yes?"

Nathanael's chest rumbled as he chuckled.

"Fine. The transformation? No worries - it only tickles for a few minutes. Then it's over. You'll be a vampire and live happily ever after."

Ron chuckled at the fairytale ending, but went silent shortly thereafter. Happily every after? Alone?

"Ron?" Nathanael kept his voice low, as if he suspected that Ron had fallen asleep.

"And you?" Ron asked, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

"Huh?"

"... Will you live happily ever after?"

"Well, I've been living for hundreds of years already, and I'm not exactly depressed," Nathanael stated, humor glowing between the words. Ron smiled.

"I see."

Tense silence fell between them, as if they were trying to read each other's minds. Ron didn't know what to say. Didn't have anything to say. Falling asleep still didn't seem like a remote possibility.

"But..." Nathanael started, fatigue making his voice husky. "You know... There's always room for improvement."

Ron blinked, craning his neck to get a better view at Nathanael's face. The prince was still facing the roof, as if even glancing at Ron would make him go nuts. Strangely enough, it made Ron's heart beat at a funny rhythm.

"Such as?"

Nathanael's throat moved slightly as he swallowed before answering.

"Finding someone who would be willing to spend eternity with me... Wouldn't be too bad, I suppose..."

Finally, the vampire turned to look at Ron. Despite the darkness that surrounded them, Ron could still detect the warmth in Nathanael's gaze. The warmth, and the want. It made him go dizzy.

"Are there certain qualifications?" Ron asked, voice low. Nathanael smiled briefly.

"Well, I've always had a thing for redheads..."

Ron felt his body go tingly. The few inches that separated him from Nathanael suddenly seemed like miles. Without thinking, he moved closer. Nathanael didn't move away, but kept his gaze steady on Ron.

When their sides touched, Ron swallowed tightly and had to close his eyes for a few seconds. He wanted to touch Nathanael. Let his hands discover his body. The part of his brain that still operated the way it was supposed to reminded him that Nathanael was already having a tough time just being close to him.

Ron understood that.

But that fact alone also made Ron want to touch Nathanael even more. Make him lose control. Unleash the beast. Ron wanted to see that side of Nathanael, even if the prince himself didn't want Ron to see it.

Temptation grew. Urge became too much. Hand slipped.

Ron rolled over to his side, pressing his chest against Nathanael, and put his hand on Nathanael's chest, much like he'd done just a little while ago. Nathanael hissed and shut his eyes closed.

"... Slipping..." He grunted out. Ron licked his lips. Something took over. Something within himself that he hadn't been aware of until now. Something raw and pure and burning. Agressive and demanding.

"I'm the one who's slipping," he whispered. "I... I'm sorry."

Nathanael's eyes opened, and Ron trembled at the blackness that pulsated there. Dark, and dangerous, and he loved it. Wanted to see more.

"Don't," Nathanael panted, chest heaving. "If you don't stop this, I can't-"

"I can't stop," Ron gritted out, desperation filling him up. "I... I want..."

"I can't promise that I'll be able to control myself," Nathanael whispered.

"I'll slap you if you bite me," Ron whispered back just as his hand slipped under Nathanael's robe and touched skin for the first time. Nathanael bit back a moan as Ron's nervous fingers grazed a nipple. The reaction made Ron gasp.

And finally, Nathanael's control snapped. Broke down completely.

With an almost feral growl, he rolled over, hovered over Ron, glared at him with piercing black eyes. Ron stared back, trembling with arousal.

"I'm going to kill you for this," Nathanael growled. Ron gave him a weak smile.

"Liar."

The kiss that followed was harsh. Painful almost. Lips crashed into one another as if fighting furiously for their life, and Ron was instantly addicted. Wanted more. Needed more.

His legs spread widely apart as Nathanael sank down between them, and gave a hard thrust. It was enough for Ron to break the violent kiss in order to gulp for air. The pleasure was insane. Everything about Nathanael was insane. And Ron thrusted back.

The fabric of their robes that kept them apart was quickly shoved aside, desperately, and they both grunted with uncontrollable need as they continued thrusting their weeping lengths against each other. The sensation of slick skin against skin was driving Ron mad.

So intimate. So personal. So good.

Nathanael was strong. His muscles gleamed in the moonlight, and Ron's hands roamed hungrily over them as he urged the prince on. When they finally separated long enough to look at each other, Ron was left breathless.

Nathanael looked gorgeous. It wasn't just the glistening muscles or the ruffled hair... His face was extraordinary. Smirking, confident, dominant. Gone were all signs of shame and hesitation. This was Nathanael's true nature. Ron shivered and dug his fingernails into Nathanael's shoulders, causing the vampire to wince briefly.

"Do you feel good?" Nathanael husked and leaned down to lick at Ron's trembling lips. His hair tickled Ron's cheeks.

"Y-yes," Ron gasped, and threw his head back with a low moan when Nathanael gave an extra hard thrust. "_God_..!"

Whatever had washed over his senses was stronger than Ron's own will. Nathanael's presence was all that mattered to him. Having him so close felt incredible.

"Nngh... N-nathanael," Ron managed and hugged Nathanael closer with his legs. A strong hand gripped Ron's side, fingers following the way Ron's muscles moved as he arched into Nathanael, pulling him even closer.

Ron had never experienced that kind of passion.

Never before had he felt so hungry for contact, so desperate for release, or so drunk on pleasure.

Blindly, Ron's hand went up behind Nathanael's neck and fisted the black hair. Yanked it. Nathanael hissed and paused his movements. With an irritated whine, Ron opened his eyes and gave the prince a confused glare.

Nathanael gave him a dark look before leaning closer with a cruel smirk.

"Demanding, are we?"

Ron's entire body pulsated with need, made it difficult to focus, or understand what Nathanael was saying. He whimpered and gave a weak thrust against the older man's groin, but Nathanael didn't respond. He stayed perfectly still, except for the hand on Ron's hip, where long fingers slowly caressed Ron's skin in seductive circles.

"I'll give you more," Nathanael said, blinking slowly, "if you tell me you want it."

Ron gulped and turned his face to the side, trying to stop himself from quivering. Nathanael gave a husky chuckle and leaned in closer, placing light kisses on Ron's collarbone.

"Well? Do you want it? Or do you want me to stop?"

"No... Don't..." Ron gritted his teeth and shuddered briefly. The waves of pleasure still crashed his senses. He couldn't speak properly. "D-don't stop... I want... Ah!" Ron's back arched when Nathanael's lips found an erect nipple to suck on. "M-more!"

"Does it feel good when I do this to you?" Nathanael kept his voice low. "Does it feel good when I touch you?"

Ron nodded. He cracked his eyes open and gave Nathanael a lusty stare.

"Feels really... good..."

"Where do you want me to touch you?" Nathanael's voice was like silk. "Can you show me?"

It was cruel. Sadistic, even. Why it turned Ron on as much as it did was beyond him. He dind't want to know. He didn't care.

Ron reached for the hand grasping his hip, swallowed tightly, and slowly guided it to his glistening erection. Face stubbornly turned away from Nathanael's glowing eyes. Long fingers grasped him tightly, and Ron bit back what would have been a yell of pleasure. His knees shook as they spread further apart, beckoning Nathanael to continue. Pleading for it.

"Good boy," Nathanael husked. "Mmh... You're so hard for me," he moaned and brought their cocks together in a firm fist before stroking them. Ron gave a quiet whimper and tried to urge Nathanael to go faster. The slow pace left him dizzy, and frustrated.

"Faster," he whined breathlessly, forgetting all about his pride and how embarrassing it all was. "Do it... Faster!"

Nathanael obliged without saying a word. Instead, he just watched Ron as he squirmed on the mattress beneath him, shaking with pleasure, head thrown back, mouth gaping slightly. Ron's hand clawed at Nathanael's chest as they came closer to the edge.

"Wha-..." Ron gasped out and threw an almost startled glance towards their groins. "I'm c-cum-"

Nathanael crashed his lips into Ron's with blistering need. Moans escaped both of them when the pleasure became too much, and finally spilled over. Their movements became uncontrolled, clumsy almost, as they rocked together tightly, grinding furiously against one another.

Even after they'd emptied themselves, they continued to thrust, slowly, holding onto each other, panting with exhaustion. Lips found lips, and they kissed. Gently, this time. Carefully.

Ron whimpered slightly as Nathanael removed himself from their embrace, and placed himself next to Ron instead, arm draped across the human's stomach, hand rubbing Ron's damp skin soothingly. Ron craned his neck so that his forehead pressed into Nathanael's chest. He was still trembling.

And although it soon dawned on him that what he'd just done was a huge step, panic never came over him. Not the way he'd expected it to. Instead, he felt strangely calm. Satisfied. Safe. Nathanael's scent filled him up, and he smiled slightly to himself.

"Y-you," he panted tiredly, "didn't bite me... Stayed in control..."

"... Well, I certainly didn't want to get slapped."

A few seconds of content chuckling went past, and they stilled against one another, waiting for sleep to arrive. Nathanael's hand stroked lazy circles over Ron's abdomen.

"Don't worry about tomorrow. Everything's gonna be fine."

Ron closed his eyes and inched closer to Nathanael. The joy that filled his chest nearly hurt. The words he'd been waiting for were sweeter than he'd imagined.

"Yeah. It'll be fine." 

TBC. 

* * *

*blinks confusedly*  
... The fuck? What just happened? I was supposed to write about the ritual in this chapter! How did I end up writing smut instead? xD

I apologize, beloved readers. For it would seem my characters do, in fact, have a mind of their own. I'm not the one in control here. ^^' (Or maybe I'm just sexually frustrated, therefor I unknowingly write smut as a means to deal with it. One or the other.)

The ritual WILL, however, take place soon. There's only so much I can do to stall it. ;)  
Hope you enjoyed this. And please - leave me a few reviews! ^^


	29. Chapter 27

Aaand I STILL don't own Harry Potter! :D Yay~

A/N:  
Wihu, it's only been 1,5 month since my last update! :D See? I want to change! ;)  
*epic-high-five*

THIS chapter, ladies (and gents?), should be a tad more eventful. Please enjoy.

Chapter 27 

* * *

Ron stared at himself in the mirror, horror written across his face. Nathanael was standing right behind him, stroking his chin in a thoughtful manner. His face remained serious, until finally the amusement simply became too much for the vampire prince, and he needed to clamp his hand over his mouth in order to hide the huge grin.

Ron's eyes narrowed.

"I saw that."

Nathanael cleared his throat.

"I... Don't know what you're talking about," he said with a voice that trembled with suppressed laughter. Ron whipped around and gave him a fierce glare.

"Would you kindly explain to me why the hell I'm wearing this?"

Ron was upset, and had a good reason to be. They had woken up early that morning, and although they had only slept for a few hours, both felt refreshed enough to leave Nathanael's bed and go back to Ron's room, where one of Trenton's assistants was waiting.

After a brief glance at Nathanael, but no questions asked, the assistant had calmly explained that Ron had an hour to get ready for the cleansing ceremony, which would take place in the great hall. He had also been kind enough to bring the white gown, which, as he informed Ronald Weasley, had to be worn during the full ceremony.

The dress was simple, white - almost see through, reached just beyond Ronald's knees, and, most importantly... looked absolutely ridiculous.

As if the dress itself wasn't bad enough, Ron was also instructed to carry a red rose with him as he walked into the hall.

Said red rose had been left on Ron's bed, and he stared at it with a disgusted frown.

"Nathan... Is this a test to see how much shame I can take before dying?"

Nathanael allowed himself to chuckle for a few seconds before placing his hands on Ron's shoulder. Their gazes locked in the mirror.

"It's tradition, okay? Look, you only have to wear it during the cleansing. We'll bring something for you to wear afterwards."

Ron sighed heavily, but nodded.

"I look stupid," he muttered and pulled at the frilly collar around his neck. "I mean, if I was girl, I'd be fine with it, but..."

"Stop fretting," Nathanael smiled and gave the back of Ron's head a quick kiss. "It'll be over soon. Besides, it's not like you'll be the only one. Draco will have to wear one, too, y'know. And Blaise, I imagine."

Ron did smile at that.

"Draco will look even more ridiculous than me."

"Oh, without a doubt," Nathanael smirked and placed his chin on top of Ron's head.

"I feel better now," Ron said with a pleased grin. But as he stared into the mirror, glance wandering from Nathanael's handsome features, to his own pale face, the grin faded. The reality dawned on him, not for the first time that morning, and a cruel, cold hand grasped his heart and gave a painful squeeze. Ron almost winced.

Nathanael's hands rubbed his shoulders gently.

"Don't be scared. Remember what I promised?"

"... Everything is going to be alright," Ron said, voice trembling slightly, but he managed a brave smile. Nathanael returned the smile.

"Yes. Everything is going to be okay. I won't allow anything else."

Ron leaned back into Nathanael's chest and sighed, gaze dropping to the floor.

"This is all so... surreal. So strange. I keep expecting myself to wake up in my bed, realizing that this was all a dream."

"Or a nightmare?" Nathanael asked carefully, voice tense. Ron didn't reply immediately. But eventually he shrugged.

"Maybe." Ron spoke quietly. "I'm scared, Nathanael. But the weird thing is that no matter how scared I am, I still want this. So... If this is a nightmare, don't wake me up."

He turned around in Nathanael's embrace and buried his face into the strong chest.

"Let me sleep for eternity."

Nathanael hugged him close, placing light kisses along Ron's temple. The redhead was shivering against him.

"Could you go over it again?" Ron mumbled. Nathanael smiled softly.

"Of course. First, there's the cleaning ceremony. You don't have to do anything. Trenton will be doing all the talking, and all you need to do is follow his instructions. Afterwards, you'll be allowed a few hours to rest and eat. During this time, the rooms will be prepared for us."

Ron nodded, hands fisting the fabric of Nathanael's robes, like a child clutching his teddybear.

"For your safety, there will be guards outside the rooms, just in case one of us loses control. But that's not going to happen," he added, voice determined, as he stroked Ron's back soothingly. "None of us will lose control."

"... Mhm," Ron sighed drowsily, secretly enjoying Nathanael's hands on his back more than he'd admit. They made him feel safe.

"And... The turning itself will start."

Ron blinked slowly, but his gaze never left the floor.

"You'll bite me, and... I'll drink your blood..."

His voice drifted off as images of what the turning would be like flooded his mind. Optimism seemed naïve.

"Don't be scared," Nathanael whispered. "It'll be over before you know it."

"... Liar," Ron said, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh. "It'll be over after I've endured hours of excruciating pain."

Nathanael sighed and gave a defeated nod.

"Yes. But I'll be there the whole time, okay?"

Ron nodded silently. Their bodies shared warmth for a little while, until Ron's words came out without his permission. Voicing his biggest and most obvious fear.

"What if I die?"

The question was sudden and direct. Ron tipped his head back to look at Nathanael, whose body has tensed up. The vampire's eyes widened briefly, before his face took on a determined frown.

"You won't."

Ron frowned and turned his face away with a 'tsk'.

"You don't know that-"

"No, I absolutely won't allow you to leave me. I forbid you to die."

Nathanael's voice was laced with anger. Ron carefully turned back to him, taking in the prince's expression. Crimson eyes glared at him, wide and unforgiving. Scared.

And strangely enough, it calmed Ron down more than any of the soothing words that Nathanael had spoken earlier.

He brought a hand up to touch Nathanael's cheek. Nathanael flinched, anger melting away as he leaned into Ron's touch with a bothered frown.

"Understood," Ron said quietly. Nathanael looked at him for a few seconds without saying anything. Then he closed his eyes.

"... I can't lose you."

"You're not going to lose me. Didn't you promise to make sure we get through this?"

"That I did," Nathanael said and smiled a little. He blinked slowly before leaning down to capture Ron's lips in a soft and unbearably slow kiss. It left Ron feeling dizzy. "I'm sorry. Guess I can't be quite as calm about this as I would like to be."

"All I ask is that you stay by my side, no matter what happens."

Nathanael pressed his forehead against Ron's with a soft sigh.

"I'll stay with you, even if the worst comes to pass. I'll follow you wherever you go."

"Don't say that," Ron whispered against Nathanael's lips. "Isn't this supposed to be a happy day? Let's not talk about dying." Nathanael's lips smiled against him.

"Agreed."

Someone knocked on the door, and after spending another few long seconds embracing each other, Ron and Nathanael let go of each other.

"Come in."

Harry's smiling face soon appeared from behind the door. He took in Ron's appearance, and reacted the same way Nathanael had. The corners of his mouth shook as he tried to remain serious.

"It, uh... Suits you?"

With a withering glare, Ron crossed his arms over his chest.

"Shut up, Harry."

Harry chewed desperately on his bottom lip as the laughter fought to leave him, but eventually managed to calm himself down. He cleared his throat and gave Ron a sympathic smile.

"Sorry about this, mate."

"Whatever," Ron sighed. "It's just for the cleansing ceremony, right?" He turned to Nathanael for support, and recieved a quick nod from the prince. "I'll change into something else afterwards. _Right_?" Another nod was recieved, and Ron was satisfied.

Harry took a seat on one of the chairs in the room and smiled.

"So, are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Ron said, void of any sign of enthusiasm. Instead he wore an expression of utter dread. It made Harry chuckle.

"We're all here for you, you know. One of the doctors from Tyrone hasn't left yet, so if anything should happen, Merlin forbid, he's here to help."

Ron nodded, pale behind his freckles. Nathanael sent him a worried look. Harry noticed.

"So, Nathan," Harry started. "What about you? Have you prepared yourself?"

"Yeah," Nathanael started, gaze flickering to the floor. "... As thoroughly as I could," he finished, not realizing how similar his response was to Ron's. And while he tried to look calm, his lack of confidence was much too obvious.

Ron took a seat on the bed with a tired sigh.

"We haven't even started yet, and I'm already exhausted."

"You're nervous," Harry said. "It's only to be expected."

"Of course it is," Ron mumbled. "I... I just want this day to be over and done with."

"It'll be over before you know it," Nathanael said, voice gentle. Ron gave him a weak smile and managed a nod.

Harry stood up and gave a grin that was probably supposed to be optimistic.

"It's about time we get going. You guys ready?"

Nathanael and Ron turned to Harry, wearing matching expressions of cold fear and burning determination. Ron stood up and gave Harry a nod.

"Let's go." 

* * *

"You sure I don't look ridiculous?" Draco hissed to Blaise, tugging on the taller boy's sleeve. They were both wearing white gowns of the same model that Ron was wearing, and Nathanael noticed the glowing glee in Ron's eyes as they approached the two Slytherins, who were standing outside the great hall.

"You look amazing," Blaise said, voice slightly sarcastic, eyebrow raised. "Jesus, Dray, will you calm down?"

"How can I be ca-" Draco's words took an abrupt halt as he noticed Ron and Nathanael, and his lips formed a slight smirk as his gaze fell on what Ron was holding in his hand. "Wow, Weasley. That rose really brings out the colour of your hair. Not to mention those freckles of yours."

"You sure you're one to talk?" Nathanael retorted before Ron had the chance to defend himself. The vampire prince pointed to Draco's pink rose. "That's cute. It matches the colour of your cheeks."

Draco looked like he wanted to come up with a snappy reply, but his expression soon morphed into a horrified one. He quickly shot his rose a glance, before turning back to Ron's red one, and finally turned to Blaise's yellow one. A miserable groan escaped him.

"Why did I get the pink one? Pink! The colour of... Ugh! Blaise, switch with me!"

Ron got the impression that Draco had been quite a handful the past few hours. The taller slytherin looked exhausted. Blaise shot Nathanael a tired glare before sighing.

"Alright, alright," the dark boy said, switched roses with his lover, and gave the pink rose a long, indifferent stare. Draco calmed down a little, but kept glaring at Nathanael from behind Blaise's shoulder.

"What time is it?" Ron asked Nathanael, voice low.

"Harry went to tell Trenton that we're ready, so it should only be a couple of minutes," Nathanael said and gave Ron a reassuring stroke on the back. Ron trembled slightly and couldn't help but to lean closer to Nathanael.

They spent a few seconds in silence. Ron stared at the floor, gripping his rose tightly. The thorns dug into his skin. Nathanael didn't say anything. Neither did Blaise. But all of a sudden, Draco did.

"What if I screw up?" He whispered, all traces of his previous mood gone. He looked terrified, much like Ron had felt the night before. Blaise gave his lover a calm look.

"You won't screw up," he said firmly. Draco's eyes were wide as he clutched Blaise's arm.

"Promise?"

"I promise," Blaise said and gave Draco's forehead a soft kiss. It was endearing, Ron reluctantly realized, to watch Draco seek comfort from Blaise. Draco never behaved this way around him, but the dread of what was awaiting them apparently made the Malfoy drop the rich-bastard-act. At least a little bit.

Draco shut his eyes at Blaise's kiss and buried his face against the taller boy's nape. He stayed that way for a few seconds, while Blaise's hands stroked his back soothingly. Blaise himself looked rather absentminded.

"You ready for this?" Harry approached them from behind Ron and Nathanael. The group tensed up and turned to Harry with four pair of wide, terrified eyes. Harry gave a crooked smile. "I'll take that as a yes."

Trenton, who had been walking a few steps behind Harry, joined them with a smile.

"This is certainly going to be interesting!" He said, excitement shining in his eyes, obviously not noticing the way Ron paled, or the way Nathanael swallowed tightly. "I say, this might just be the most exciting event I've experienced since that time I visited the human world and witnessed what they called 'the second world war'..."

Harry chuckled at Trenton's comment, but Ron easily detected the way Harry's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. His friend was nervous.

"Well then, let's begin!" Trenton said, looking like a child on christmas morning. "The three of you will enter through these doors when the music starts. You'll have to wait for a few minutes, but I trust that's not a problem. Unless one of you decides to run off, of course," he added, and gave a bark of laughter, not realizing that said three teens looked quite ready to do just that. Run away. Forget this ever happened.

Sadly, it was much too late for that.

Ron took a deep breath and turned to Nathanael, who brought up a hand to Ron's hair and gave it a tender caress that sent warmth through Ron's chest.

"Good luck, yeah?"

"... Thanks," Ron said and gave a smile.

Trenton left, and with one last encouraging smile, Harry followed the vampire lord. After a few seconds, Nathanael left, too.

Ron, Draco and Blaise stared after the vampires, waves of harsh reality washing over them. Ron watched as Draco and Blaise held onto one another, trying to be strong for each other, and desperately wished for Nathanael to come back. Wished for someone to hide behind, to cling to, to hold him.

But he was sick and tired of this fear. This _was _happening. He'd come this far.

He'd go through with this. No matter what, he'd go through with this.

_"It'll be over before you know it."_

Ron sincerely hoped that Nathanael was right.

And finally, the teens flinched and turned to the door. The music had started playing. It was starting.

"These are our last hours of humanity," Blaise said, voice low, before he turned to Draco, and even gave Ron a brief but friendly glance. "No more weakness. No more fear. We'll live forever." He turned to Draco with a tender look in his eyes. "Together."

Draco gave a pale smile.

"I think I can live with that."

Ron gave a short laugh.

"Me, too. Let's do this. We've come this far."

"Let's keep moving forward," Blaise said. "Until we reach our goal."

"Let's show them what we're made of," Draco said, with a small smirk. This unexpected positive attitude brought confidence to Ron's heart, and he couldn't help but to give a crooked grin.

"Agreed."

The doors opened. 

* * *

Ron walked into the room, and fought the urge to slap a hand over his mouth. The hall was enormous. It had the shape of a globe. Hundreds of vampires were seated on the chairs circulating the space in the middle of the room, where the cleansing ceremony clearly would take place.

A young vampire with light hair and glowing yellow eyes appeared next to Ron and gestured for him to walk straight forward. There was a path leading into the centre. The floor had been covered with dark rose petals.

Ron swallowed and walked ahead, holding his rose to his chest like he'd been told to do, and tried to hold his head high. He couldn't see Nathanael anywhere, but then, he couldn't really make out the faces of anyone sitting in the hall. The only sorce of light were the floating candle sticks, similar to the ones at Hogwarts.

Ron cursed inwardly.

On the list of things he really did not need right now, being reminded of his human life held the top spot.

With an irritated frown, he forced himself to focus on the ceremony, heart pounding loudly in his chest. He was sure everyone in the room could hear it. And it wasn't just a figure of speech.

He could feel hundreds of hungry eyes glaring into his skin, and it became increasingly difficult to walk straight. The music didn't help. It was a ghostly, slow tune, that made Ron feel drowsy. His naked feet on the cool stone floor felt clumsy.

"Friends," Trenton's voice suddenly echoed through the great hall, startling Ron so that he almost tripped over himself. "We've gathered here today to witness the cleansing of these three humans, who wish to join our species."

The vampire lord stood in the middle of the room, waiting for them. He was clad in crimson robes that shimmered in the candle light. Although he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him, his voice held a low tone that made Ron tremble.

How different it was to see Trenton like this. Gone were all signs of glee or humour. Trenton looked serious and cold.

Ron swallowed as he walked past the undead spectators, whose eyes traced his lightly dressed body from top to toe. It made his skin crawl.

When he finally reached the middle, where Trenton stood, he sighed with relief. Draco and Blaise eventually made it to the centre, as well. Ron glanced at them. Blaise's face was void of emotions. Draco was so pale that it was difficult to make out where his lips were.

But they were there. They hadn't run away.

"To clean away all traces of their humanity, and to prove their valor, this cleaning ceremony shall commence," Trenton spoke. "As soon as the sacred moonlight hits this floor."

A crack from the high ceiling suddenly sounded throughout the room, and Ron tipped his head back with a gasp. A gap, an opening, was steadily growing above them. Ron's eyes widened at the sight of the stars, and eventually, the moon.

Pale and cruel, it stared down on them. Like an indifferent judge.

"Humans," Trenton said, and was rewarded with three pale faces turning to him. "Stand here." He flicked his wrist and made an elegant gesture towards a large golden circle on the floor, that had been impossible to spot if it hadn't been for the added light from the night sky. It gleamed silently on the floor, and Ron took a hesitating step towards it. Trenton nodded. "Stand inside the circle. You will now be cleansed, and blessed."

Ron swallowed his nausea and put a trembling foot inside the circle. Draco and Blaise followed suit. Draco's breath came out in shallow shudders.

"Don't speak a word until it's over," Trenton said quietly and gave them a warning look.

The room went silent and deadly still, as they waited. As the gap in the ceiling continued to grow, more and more moonlight was let into the room, shining directly at the centre. Ron, Draco and Blaise stood in a triangle, backs against each other, staring silently at the crowd. Ron could hear his own heartbeat. It was fast.

Finally, with a loud creak, the gap in the ceiling stopped. Ron cast a careful glance upwards. The moon looked huge. But when Draco gave a silent gasp, Ron's gaze went down to the golden circle on the floor, which had started glowing with a hushed hum.

And then, two figures clad in dark cloaks appeared next to Trenton. As they came closer to the golden circle, their faces were slowly revealed in the golden light. Ron had never seen such beautiful women in his life.

One of them had black, straight hair, green eyes that shimmered in the moonlight, and a solemn look on her face. The other woman was blonde, with soft curls flowing over her shoulders, and icey blue eyes that made Ron feel as if she could see straight into his soul. She smiled at Ron, and when they came close enough, the blonde woman put her hand against Ron's cheek. It was cold and warm at the same time.

"I know who you are, Ronald Weasley," she said, voice like black silk. "Me and my sister knew who you were even before you came here. I am Evah, the older sister."

"I am Annah, the younger sister," the woman with black hair said and came to stand next to her sister's side. "The future holds much suffering and pain for you, Ronald Weasley. I implore you to gather your strength. You will need every ounce of it."

Ron's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but Evah immediately put her fingers against his lip and made a hushing sound.

"Calm yourself. Remember - You aren't allowed to speak in the presence of the goddess of the moon. I, too, have looked into your future. I have looked into your very heart. And you should know that no matter what troublesome events await you, your strength will carry you. You will reach happiness. And when you stumble, he will catch you."

_He?_

Ron frowned with confusion.

Evah's smile widened, and her eyes suddenly sparkled with emotion.

"He who holds your heart."

Ron's heart gave a few painful thumps at her words, and finally he returned the smile.

_... He will stay with me, right? Forever?_

"As long as you choose to stay with him, he won't leave you. Ever."

A burning lump gathered in Ron's throat. Gratitude, relief and joy washed over him in powerful waves.

_Thank you._

Annah cocked her head to the side and although she wasn't smiling, Ron detected warmth in her eyes.

"Remember, Ronald Weasley, that although hardships never seem to cease, they are but obstacles that one needs to overcome. Nothing more, nothing less."

Evah removed her hand from Ron's cheek. Her touch lingered and tickled his skin.

"It is when you allow yourself to look into the darkness and recognize that you are part of it that you can become strong. Have no fear. Trust yourself. For you are one who is special," she whispered, words floating on the air like music. "To him, you are warmth."

The sisters took a step away from Ron, and slowly moved on to Draco, who was shivering against Ron's back.

No matter how quiet the room was, and no matter how much Ron's ears fought to listen to what they were telling the Malfoy, not a single sound escaped the conversation. The only thing Ron could hear were Draco's breath, still shallow and shuddering, but clearly calming down.

After a minute or so, the sisters finally moved to Blaise, and another seconds of absolute silence passed. When the sisters walked away from Blaise, the dark boy heaved a trembling, tense sigh. But his resolution dind't waver.

Evah placed herself in front of Ron, while Annah walked to the other side of the golden circle. Without speaking, they extended their pale hands towards the ceilings, fingers bathing in moonlight.

They stayed that way for a few seconds, and Ron noticed that although Evah's mouth was closed, her eyes looked extremely focused, as if they alone carried a conversation with the moon.

He was starting to feel nervous.

A prickling sensation washed over his skin, like the caress of a ghost. He shuddered and closed his eyes.

Several minutes passed by. Ron ignored the chill, and focused on simply getting through the ceremony.

It wasn't until the thick silence was broken by excited murmurs from the audience that Ron finally opened his eyes again.

At first, he didn't understand what people were getting excited about. Evah and Annah had stopped their silent discussion with the moon goddess, and simply watched the human boys in content silence. Evah was smiling, and Ron hoped that it was a good sign.

Trenton walked up to them with a nod.

"Well done, boys."

"... What happened?" Ron asked, still somewhat confused. It was over? Trenton gave him a smile and pointed to the rose that Ron still hugged to his chest. Ron followed his gaze, and his eyes widened.

The rose, that had been a glowering red, fully mature and blossoming just a few minutes ago, was now black, dried out. Dead.

Shock sizzled in his veins, as he tried desperately to come to terms with what had happened. Had he done something to the rose? Used wandless magic? No... He would've noticed. He wasn't even sure that he was capable of using magic anymore.

So what the hell had happened to the rose?

He glanced to Draco and Blaise, who wore similar expressions of wonder on their faces. Their roses were dead, as well. Ron turned back to his own rose and carefully touched one of the black petals. It almost cracked under his touch, and promptly fell to the floor.

As he witnessed this, Ron was struck by a wave of nausea. With a disgusted frown, he dropped the rose to the floor, and watched the petals scatter against the rocky surface.

Trenton gave him an unreadable glance, one that made Ron feel like he might've done something he wasn't supposed to, but soon turned to the audience again.

"The humans have been cleansed. Rejoice, friends, for it looks like we are to be blessed with an addition of three new members. Let us continue supporting them in this struggle, until it is finished."

Trenton nodded to the oracle sisters, who bowed to him and left the centre, diving into the shadows until Ron couldn't see them anymore. The vampire lord turned back to the audience with a darker expression.

"I realize that there are some in this room who do not agree with me in this matter, I ask of you to respect our wishes. The wishes of Tom Riddle, and Harry Potter. The wish of Prince Vlad Nathanael of the Dragulia clan. Not to mention the wishes of these three humans, who of their own will, has agreed to leave everything behind them, to join us immortals. They have proven their worth, and I shall not stand idly by if someone dares to oppose me in my own house." Trenton's face turned even darker, and his mouth turned into a snarl that displayed his sharp teeth. "Trust me when I say, should someone dare to hurt these boys, there shall be severe consequences."

Gratitude filled Ron up, until he almost choked on it.

They had the support of the Lord of the household. Ron hadn't realized, until this point, how much it meant.

"Thus, the cleansing ceremony is finished! You may all return to your quarters. What comes next is, as you all know, an act of utmost intimacy, which you aren't allowed to take part of. You shall recieve news on this matter tomorrow. That is all. Thank you for showing your interest and your support."

With a flick of his wrist, Trenton used magic to increase the light in the room, as the audience left the great hall, still mumbling amongst themselves. Some seemed genuinely interested and positive, while some of them gave Ron nasty glares as they passed him. Ron didn't have the guts to glare back, but he did have the guts to at least look in their eyes.

"That went well, didn't it?" Trenton said, fully returned to his old self, which in some ways made Ron feel more relaxed.

"You're surprisingly... regal," Draco pointed out with a weak smile. His voice was hoarse, forehead clammy, and Ron realized that the prickling sensation he'd felt during the cleansing might have been more than just a ghostly caress to the blonde ex-slytherin. He almost looked as if he was in pain.

Blaise had already taken notice to this, and quickly put his arm around Draco. The dark boy didn't show any signs of fatigue or pain. Only Draco was affected. Why?

But before Ron had the chance to ask, Trenton was already continuing his conversation with Draco.

"When I have to be," he said, and gave a wink. "I'm the lord of this house, after all. Consider yourself indebted to me - no one will even attempt to harm you boys now."

"Thanks," Ron said, not taking his eyes off of Draco, who was slightly out of breath. "Um... Maybe we should let Draco lay down for a little while..."

The Malfoy gave Ron a slight glare.

"Don't patronize me, Weasley. I can go on."

"Calm down, I'm just saying... You don't look so good."

"He's right, Dray. You look drained."

Draco gave Blaise a slightly hurt look, as if he didn't approve of the fact that Blaise agreed with Ron instead of him.

"I'm _fine_."

"Stop being like this," Blaise said, voice teetering on irritation. "You're obviously not well enough to continue right away." He turned to Trenton. "Would it be okay if we return to our room so that he can rest for a little while?"

Trenton nodded.

"Of course. I'm sorry, young Malfoy, but if you continue to the second phase right away, it might kill you. I strongly suggest you take your Zabini's advice."

"Is everything okay?"

Nathanael was suddenly by Ron's side, hand firmly attached to Ron's waist. Ron leaned into the touch and felt Nathanael's warmth chase away the chill from his bones.

"Malfoy isn't feeling too good," he explained and glanced to Nathanael's face, heart skipping a beat as he watched Nathanael's handsome features form a bemused frown.

"I see."

"You should rest up before we move onto the actual turning," Harry joined the group, looking rather concerned. "You're pale as a ghost, Draco."

"Why did it affect him, and not us?" Blaise said, voice slightly unsteady. "Weasley and I are just fine."

"That, uh..." Harry bit his lip. "That might be my fault."

"What do you mean?" Blaise shot Harry an upset look. Harry rubbed the back of his head with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face.

"Well... I've only been a vampire for a few months. The blood that Draco recieved from me might not be quite as strong as the blood that Ron recieved from Nathanael. And as we know, you were born with the virus, Blaise."

"This, however, does not mean that Malfoy's life is in danger," Tom's low voice joined the conversation, as he placed himself behind Harry and put a supportive hand on his young lover's shoulder. "It just means that he needs to rest."

Trenton nodded his agreement and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You needn't worry, Mr Zabini. He'll be fine in a few hours. I suggest you get some sleep. All of you. Even if you two are feeling fine," he gave Ron a pointed look as well, "I would still recommend that you rest before we move on. The process of getting turned consumes much energy."

Blaise calmed down a little and turned to Draco.

"You hear that, baby?" He gave Draco's sweaty temple a peck. "Let's go get some rest, yeah?"

Draco's pale fingers grasped Blaise's shoulder, and with a grumpy nod, he agreed.

"Fine."

The two slytherins left the great hall to return to their quarters. Soon enough, Trenton left, too. Harry turned to Ron with a smile.

"You okay?"

Ron nodded and realized with an embarrassed squeeze to his core that Nathanael was still holding his waist in a rather suggestive way.

"I'm fine. I didn't even notice that the ceremony was over until people starting chatting..."

"What did the oracles tell you?" Harry asked, looking more than a little curious. "I still haven't had the pleasure of meeting them, but they say it's one hell of an experience."

"Um..." Ron wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Harry about what the oracles had told him. It was like a secret treasure that only he knew about. And unexpectedly enough, Tom was the one who saved him from Harry's curious prodding.

"Harry, there's a reason behind the fact that we couldn't hear a single word they said; What the oracles told him is something that was meant for his ears and his ears alone," he said and gave Harry a patient smile. "Whatever they told him, I'm sure it was meant to help him."

Harry turned back to Ron.

"Was it helpful? I can ask that much, right?" Harry said and turned to Tom, who nodded briefly with a mildly amused look on his face.

"Yeah," Ron said, and blushed slightly. "It was helpful."

Silence filled the hall for a few seconds, while Harry tried to analyze Ron's expression. Nathanael quirked an eyebrow, and Tom eventually rolled his eyes a little.

"We should take our leave," Tom said and gently steered Harry out of the great hall. "They need to rest."

"But I-"

"You need to rest, too. You barely slept at all last night."

"And whose fault is that?" Harry steamed as they walked away from Nathanael and Ron, who stared after them. When they were alone, Nathanael let out a soft chuckle.

"A fine couple, those two."

"They're totally meant to be," Ron laughed.

Nathanael's hand was about to leave his waist, and before Ron knew what he was doing, he'd already gripped Nathanael's hand and forced the hand to stay. Nathanael turned to him with a gentle expression. Ron stared at the floor.

"Are you okay?"

Ron nodded without a word.

"You want me to carry you back to your room?"

Ron blushed and shook his head wildly.

"... You want me to carry you to MY room?" Nathanael said and added a suggestive snigger. Ron gave him an embarrassed glare.

"What if I said yes?"

Nathanael's teasing expression smoothed out as he carefully watched Ron's sincere expression. He finally smile and bowed down to Ron's level.

"I wouldn't oppose," he said and slowly leaned in. Ron met the soft kiss half-way. When they pulled away, Nathanael's fingers stroked over his cheek and jaw. "You did excellent today, by the way. I'm proud of you."

"I dropped the rose," Ron said, hating himself a little for already being slightly out of breath. Nathanael certainly didn't have to do much to reduce him to a shuddering pile of want. The vampire prince gave a brief laugh.

"Don't worry about it. The rose symbolized your human mortality. The fact that it died during the ceremony meant that you're willing to leave all that behind you. It was supposed to die. Dropping it to the floor didn't ruin anything. Heck, it was probably just a good thing."

"... I don't know why, but it sorta grossed me out a little..." Ron admitted with a confused frown. "It was so... frail."

Nathanael watched him silently for a few seconds before giving Ron's forehead a kiss.

"Stop thinking about it. Let's go."

Nathanael started guiding him to the exit. Ron glanced to the vampire's face again, and his heart reacted the same way it did last time. Nathanael was so stunningly beautiful that it was difficult to tear your gaze away. What could he possibly see in someone as plain as Ron?

_"As long as you choose to stay with him, he won't leave you. Ever."_

Ron tightened his grip on Nathanael's hand and clung to those words, until they echoed and tumbled in his brain. Nathanael cast a glance to him.

"You nervous?"

Ron smiled and shook his head.

"Why would I be nervous? You promised you wouldn't let anything happen."

Nathanael returned his smile. The great hall was still bathing in candle light. Nathanael pulled Ron close in a passionate embrace. Ron's eyes flickered and went hazy as he felt Nathanael's lips trace his neck.

"Don't forget - you're forbidden to die."

Ron pressed his lips against Nathanael's nape. Pouring all his emotions and insecurities into the affectionate touch.

"We've reached an agreement."

TBC.

* * *

Tadadadadadaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. :D How's that?

Oh, and I recall one of my precious readers asked me a very good question (one that I'm surprised that no one else has brought up before, actually).  
If you recall, Tom already told Harry that vampires don't breed. Yet for some reason, Nathanael was born a vampire. How is this possible?  
You'll find out soon! ;) Stay tuned.


	30. Chapter 28

Who owns Harry Potter? Well, it certainly isn't me.

A/N: Hello, beloved readers and loyal reviewers. I just wanted to make a quick announcement. Okay, more than one, actually.

First off: Yes, I've given "Possess Me" a cover image. It's a black rose. Those of you who paid attention in the previous chapter will understand. ;) Hope you like it.

Second: Yes, I am the assholes of assholes. I can't believe how long I've made you wait for this chapter, and I'm truly ashamed of myself. It's been a fucked up year.

Third: Not sure what's going on with the ratings-drama, but Possess Me is still up, so I'm guessing... they're not going to remove it? I'm confused. Like, super confused.  
Well, whatever. S'time for ya'll to find out what happens next.

Thank you so, SO much for your continued support. Lord knows I don't deserve it.

Alright, here we go. Chapter 28. 

* * *

Ron had spent the three hours of rest they'd been given tossing and turning in Nathanel's embrace, relishing in the vampire's touch, but nervous enough to shiver. It was like having a fever, and Ron suspected he was coming down with one heck of a flu.

He'd been fine a couple of hours ago. Alas, he supposed, it was only natural to panic. Christ. He was going to go through with this. He wanted to wake Nathanael, but the vampire prince needed sleep just as much as he did.

After sporadically falling asleep and waking up over and over again, Ron felt utterly worn out as Nathanael finally woke up next to him and helped him get dressed. Ron's hand were useless. Fingers shaking from lack of sleep, and fear.

And Nathanael didn't say a thing. Instead, he gave Ron brief glances as he ran his fingers over Ron's arms and tied the cloth around Ron's waist. The vampire prince was nervous, too. His mouth formed a thin line, and his throat was tight as he swallowed.

When, finally, it was time to leave their room, Ron took a shuddering breath and clasped Nathanael's hand in a cold grip.

"... You scared?"

Ron's expression was flat as he avoided Nathanael's gaze.

"I'm about to die, Nathan."

"Sure, if you think of it that way," Nathanael mumbled and rolled his eyes at himself for not thinking of something better to say. The redhaired human was pale as a ghost when Nathanael crouched in front of him. "So don't."

Ron's eyes were wide and unseeing as he stared back at the vampire. Nathanael's core squeezed uncomfortably at the sight. Despite Ron's apparent calm before, it was more than obvious that he was starting to worry about it.

"It'll hurt. Right? A lot."

"I'll try my hardest to make it as comfortable for you as possible."

"What a relief. What are you gonna do? Bring me a pillow and make me some tea?" Sarcasm dripped from his every word.

Nathanael's jaw worked and his gaze went to the floor. Ron's naked feet were as pale as his face.

"Do you want to back out? Return to your world? Tell me now, because in a few hours it'll be too late." He slowly stood up and soaked himself in the shadows cast by the candles on the nightstand. The look he gave Ron was a rather merciless one, but at this point, being gentle proved futile.

Ron stared up at him, blinked a few times as his expression went from frightened and confused, to frightened and hurt. Nathanael hated himself.

"I never said that," Ron said, voice cracking. "Christ, Nathanael..." His trembling took a turn for the worse and the human hugged himself in an attempt to stop shaking.

"Then make up your damn mind," Nathanael gritted out and took a slow step towards Ron, who seemed to shrink into himself. "We don't have time for hesitation, Ron. We don't have room for regret."

Ron was silent for a few seconds, and Nathanael's fists clenched. Just as another wave of selfloathing was about to sweep over the vampire for being so cold to the human boy, Ron slowly looked up. Eyes still wide.

"T-tell me... You love me."

Nathanael blinked and felt his own eyes grow large. The ache in his chest increased tenfold, and he turned his face away with a pained sneer. Then he knelt in front of Ron once more. Put his strong hands on unsteady hips, and made sure Ron met his gaze.

"I love you."

"... You won't leave me?"

"I won't leave you."

Ron breathed harsly through his nose and shut his eyes. Then he nodded. He put his cold hands over Nathanael's, and took a step closer to the vampire in order to hug Nathanael's head to his stomach. Nathanael's could feel the mucsles in Ron's abdomen clench and unclench.

"Okay," Ron finally said, body relaxing a little. "Okay."

Nathanael turned his head to look into Ron's face. Still pale, still frightened, but calmer now. Determination had returned to his eyes, and Nathanael sighed with relief.

"You'll be okay," Nathanael said, more to himself than to Ron. The human nodded and offered the tiniest of smiles.

"I'll hold you to that."

"By all means."

Nathanael stood up, towered over the soon-to-be vampire, and put a protective hand on Ron's shoulder as he opened the door.

"Let's go." 

* * *

In another part of the castle, a blanket was ruthlessly kicked off its' bed as Draco's leg spasmed. Blaise dived into his warm, welcoming body and kept his burning gaze on the moaning boy beneath him. Tears flowed from Draco's eyes, and Blaise wasn't sure if they were a product of Draco's fear, or the pleasure of being locked together. He desperately hoped for the latter.

"B-blaise!" Draco moaned and clawed his hands over Blaise's lower back. "Hard-... er!"

Blaise growled and hoisted Draco's leg over his shoulder. His thrusts came fast and hard and Draco's head trashed against the pillow. Blaise loved the way the blond hair became tussled and damp. So unlike the image of perfection most people were used to.

Climax approached quickly, and Draco's moans cracked with heated desperation as Blaise pulled himself out and landed his seed on Draco's stomach. The Malfoy gave one last keening moan and joined Blaise in the bliss, hugging dark hips with pale legs.

Blaise collapsed on top of his lover and earned himself a satisfied grunt. He pulled Draco close and buried his face in Draco's damp nape. Sweaty palms dragged over Blaise's shoulders, and the glorious afterglow was almost enough to wash away their fear of what they were about to do. Almost.

Draco's palms eventually stopped moving, and Blaise felt the lithe body tense up under him. Already knowing what was coming, Blaise closed his eyes and waited, heart drumming painfully in his chest.

Draco's first sob was muffled, and Blaise opened his eyes again. He stretched his back and turned his head to look at his lover. Draco's head was thrown back, eyes closed, and a trembling hand covering most of his face.

Blaise felt his heart break. He crawled closer to Draco, braced himself on his elbows, and placed his lips on the back of Draco's hand.

"Shh, baby," he whispered. "I'm here."

Draco's free hand clamped down on Blaise's shoulder as he tried his damndest to stop crying. The Malfoy hated this. Blaise knew he did.

When Draco finally managed to calm himself down a tad, he removed the hand covering his mouth and instead dragged it across his eyes with an irritated sigh. He wiped the tears away with swiftness and focused his gaze on Blaise. Blaise was relieved to see hints of determination behind the wet lashes.

"I love you," he said, voice cracking a little. Draco gave a shivering smile and nodded.

"I love you, too."

"We're going through with his, and tomorrow it'll be over and done with. Eternity will be ours."

"Yeah."

A pause. Worried despair chased over Draco's features again. Blaise gave Draco a warning look and started shaking his head.

"Don't," he said. "Draco, _no_."

"What if-"

"I said NO."

Draco clamped his mouth shut, but the fear in his eyes still beamed ruthlessly at Blaise. Blaise lowered himself over Draco and pressed his lips to the colder pair of Draco's.

"You can't think like that, Dray."

"I can't lose you-" Draco whispered, voice highpitched and nearly panicked. Blaise shut him up with another kiss.

"You won't."

"Don't you fucking dare," Draco hissed against him. "If you die, Blaise... I'll never forgive you."

"Have some faith in me," Blaise said, keeping his voice as calm as he could. "We'll both make it."

"You don't _know_ that," Draco spat. "I can't be the only one in here who remember what we learned in school. Humans die from vampire bites all the time. The transformation itself could go wrong, and-"

"Why are you thinking about this _now_?" Blaise snapped. He stretched his arms and hovered over Draco with a stern expression. "We've come this far, baby. There's no going back. We have nothing to go back to. This is our only chance."

Draco stared at him, and visibly relaxed under Blaise. Pale hands eventually came to carress Blaise's arms, and Draco gave a short nod.

"I'm sorry... You're right." Draco mumbled and closed his eyes. "You're right. We'll make it through this. We have no choice but to make it."

"That's my boy," Blaise mumbled and bent down to shower Draco with more kisses. "We're already late, by the way. We need to get moving."

Draco tensed up again, but he didn't start crying this time. Blaise was relieved. He'd spent the past hour and most his energy on comforting his lover. He wasn't sure he could withstand another moment of panic and tears. He wasn't sure how much longer he could be strong for Draco.

"Clean us up, then," Draco demanded and gestured to a cloth on the nightstand. His eyes were still wider than Blaise would've liked them to be, but his attitude was back to normal. Blaise grabbed Draco's hand, kissed it, and gave Draco a wicked smirk.

"Yes, sir." 

* * *

Harry took a few sips from the bottle Tom kept on their nightstand and wiped his lips before he put it back. He still didn't quite understand what Tom saw in the stuff - fox blood - but it did its' job and chased both hunger and worry away.

Harry turned wary eyes to Tom, who was resting next to him. His eyes were closed, but Harry knew well enough not to assume Tom was asleep.

"Why can't it be me?" He asked, and immediately hated himself for sounding like a pouting kid. "I'm just saying," he continued, trying to sound reasonable, "I'm the one who gave him the virus in the first place. So why can't I-"

"Enough," Tom growled and slid one crimson eye open. "I won't allow it."

"And I'm asking why."

"It's not safe."

"Not safe? I already made it through the blood exchange. I'm _fine_."

"Fine? Need I remind you what happened after the blood exchange?"

"... You're not serious." Harry sat up and gave Tom a look of disbelief. "Tom, that's not going to happen again."

"It might."

"It won't."

"Harry..."

"I just want to hel-"

"_ENOUGH_." Tom sat up, directing angry eyes to his young lover. Harry stared at him, eyes thumping with alarm. "I say no, and that's final."

"Since when do you get to order me around?" Anger bled into Harry's voice.

"Since when do you ever _listen_? I agreed to let you bring them here, I agreed to helping you find a way to turn them, and I agreed to let you share your blood with the Malfoy brat, which as you may recall resulted in you losing your memory." Tom sneered. "I'm _done_ agreeing, Harry."

Tom got up and started pacing around the room. Harry watched him. Everything in Tom's body language told him to stay the fuck away. Naturally, Harry ignored it. He carefully walked up to Tom and deliberately got in the older vampire's way. Tom was still seething with anger.

"Calm down," Harry sighed and put his hands on Tom's chest. "I'm sorry, okay? I just don't understand why you're so against it."

Tom took a deep breath and turned away from Harry.

"If it was absolutely necessary for you to be the one to turn him, I wouldn't have a say in this," he said and took a seat on of the armchairs. "But it doesn't have to be you, Harry. It could be anyone that Trenton deems worthy. Someone stronger, and more experienced. So yeah. I'm saying no. And for once, I wish you'd listen to me."

Harry couldn't argue. Damnit. He'd already screwed up too many times.

"Alright," he sighed. "Fine. I get it."

"It's not like being someone's turner is a walk in the park. It could be dangerous, Harry. Especially for someone as brand new as you."

"I said I get it," Harry gritted. "I'm too weak, and you don't trust me."

"Yes, that's _exactly_ what I said," Tom sneered sarcastically.

Harry and Tom glared at one another until Tom finally gave a tired sigh and held his hand out. Harry waited a few seconds before he took it and allowed Tom to pull him closer.

"I'm saying I love you." Tom gave his young mate a dark look. "If I decided to do something reckless that might end up injuring me, would you be okay with that?"

"Of course not," Harry muttered.

"Exactly. So I'm saying no, Harry."

"... Mhm."

"Don't pout."

"I'm not po-"

Tom swiftly caught Harry's lips in a hungry kiss and pulled the younger vampire onto his lap. Harry swayed awkwardly and reached back to grasp Tom's knees for leverage. Arousal hit them both, and Harry thrust softly against the vampire lord. Tom sighed his approval and leaned back in the chair, hand massaging Harry's thighs.

"So who's gonna do it?" Harry asked, voice husky. "Instead of me, that is?"

"Trenton has already made preparations," Tom said and pulled Harry down for another kiss. "Let him worry about that." 

* * *

The corridor was omniously lit with flickering fires on the walls, and Ron gritted his teeth. Fuck this. Nathanael looked straight ahead as they walked, and Ron followed suit. No time for hesitation. No room for regret.

Trenton was already waiting for them, as were Tom and Harry. Two figures dressed in cloaks stood behind them. Three doors were open and gaping coldly at them as they approached. Welcoming them, and trying to scare them away at the same time. The rooms inside were dark.

"Are you properly prepared?" Trenton asked, and seemed to direct the question to Nathanael rather than him. Ron glanced to Nathanael, who gave a curt nod to Trenton. The hand on Ron's shoulder clenched briefly.

Blaise and Draco joined them a short minute later, still flushed and oddly freshlooking from whatever it was they'd been doing a short while ago. Ron would've snorted, if it hadn't been for the fact that he'd been dying to do exactly that with Nathanael all night. He understood. Draco's eyes were wider than normal, and although he managed to keep his cool, Ron knew him well enough to notice the traces of fear on his face.

He glanced to Harry, who gave him an encouraging nod.

"We're all here," Trenton said and gestured to the dark rooms. "You'll be preforming the act in these rooms, once for each human. Draco, I've assigned Isabella to you," he said and pointed to one of the cloaked figured.

The figure stepped out from the shadows and removed the hood, revealing a beautiful face and copper hair. Isabella had a gentle face, and gave Draco a calm nod. Draco cast Harry a confused look, which Trenton noticed.

"Isabella is more experienced than Harry. You'll be in good hands."

Draco hesitated, but eventually nodded. He walked up to Isabella and the two of them took place in front of the first door. Trenton turned to the other figure behind him and gestured for it to step forward.

"Blaise, this is Jonathan." Blaise swallowed tightly and gave a curt nod to the tall man in front of him. Jonathan had stern features, but looked calm and collected. They took place in front of the second room.

"Nathanael," Trenton said and gave the vampire prince a reassuring smile. "You'll be taking care of Ronald, as we agreed."

Nathanael nodded stiffly and moved towards the final door, gently steering Ron in the same direction.

"Will you stay until it's over?" Ron asked before he could help himself and sent Harry a nervous look. Harry frowned and turned his gaze to the floor.

"Unfortunately, no one is allowed to watch. Not even those you trust," Trenton explained. "You'll be glad for it later, I'm sure."

"I'll be close by," Harry said and gave Ron a determined look. "Anything happens, we'll be right here."

Ron swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded to show his understanding.

"Enter your rooms," Trenton ordered. The three couples did as they were told. "You'll find a silver bell hanging from the ceiling in each room. If anything goes wrong during the process, ring it, and we'll send help. I'll be locking the doors."

Ron twitched as the 'click' of a lock echoed through the dark room and moved closer to Nathanael. A strong hand stoked over his back.

_If anything goes wrong..._

"Don't be scared. I'm here."

Ron could only nod. He didn't remember how to use his voice.

"Now," Trenton finally announced. "I'll take my leave. I'll be checking in on you once an hour, just to be safe. Good luck."

Ron watched as Trenton, Tom and Harry took their leave. Harry glanced back at him and gave a pale smile.

Eventually, Ron couldn't see them anymore.

"Blaise? Draco?" Ron called out, and when he was met with nothing but silence, he understood that the rooms were enchanted to be soundproof. Relief washed over him. He turned to Nathanael, and felt his eyes fight to get used to the darkness of the room. A small window let some of the moonlight in, and Nathanael's face slowly emerged. A silver bell dangled from the ceiling, tied in a white string. Like a cold reminder of how dangerous this could turn out to be. Ron tore his gaze from it and focused on the vampire prince in front of him. Nathanael carefully moved closer to him.

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Ron said, voice shaking. He took a step towards Nathanael and put trembling hands on the vampire's strong chest. "Let's get this over and done with."

Nathanael let out a short scoff, and put his hands on Ron's nape. He slowly bent down to capture Ron's lips in a blistering kiss and guided him to a mattress that was placed against the wall beneath the window.

"Just... relax, yeah?" Nathanael said, voice strained. Ron put his hand on Nathanael's shoulder and nodded.

His heart fluttered briefly as Nathanael's lips skimmed over his neck. Sparks of arousal and want danced across his skin, and Ron stretched his neck to invite Nathanael in. He couldn't quite explain the emotions that stormed within him, but his previous fear had been reduced to a dull hum in the background. He ached for Nathanael.

And when finally Nathanael's teeth found his skin, broke it, and a tounge started lapping up the blood that flowed out, Ron couldn't help but to moan.

It burned and it fucking hurt, but gods, it felt good.

Ron trembled and pressed himself closer to Nathanael. Heated passion took him over and Ron reached blindly for Nathanael's groin. Fingers found hard flesh and Nathanael grunted against him. Drank more eagerly. Ron went blind and dizzy and hard and desperate.

"F-fuck..."

Nathanael grinded against him and Ron growled as he met the thrusts. Their clothes were in the way, but they didn't have time to worry about that. They dived into the blind pleasure and writhed against one another as Nathanael fed from him.

After a while - minutes? hours? - Nathanael finally tore himself from Ron. A disappointed whine escaped the shivering human, and Nathanael stared at him the way a wolf looked at its' prey. He licked his lips and pressed them to Ron's.

Ron almost convulsed with need. It should've repulsed him to kiss a pair of lips soaked in his own blood, but it didn't. Ron felt oddly hungry. High on whatever it was that made him ache for Nathanael.

Nathanael calmly brought his own wrist to his mouth, bit it, and brought it to Ron's lips. Ron opened them and eagerly sucked the warm liquid that flowed out. Metallic, salty, and electric. Life filled him up, and then death came down upon him. Ron gasped as his vision went white. He kept drinking until the first punch of pain reached his stomach.

With a confused expression, Ron turned away from Nathanael. Paused. Blinked a few times. Another wave of searing pain went through him, and Ron grunted as it forced him to bend over.

"Wha-"

Nathanael seemed to calm down as he realized that Ron's transformation had started. He grabbed Ron's shoulders and hugged him close.

"Shh," he hushed. "It's started. I'm here. It'll be okay."

"Nath-" Ron spasmed as he felt his intestins rearrange themselves and pain overrode his senses. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. He was left gaping against Nathanael's chest as every inch of his being protested, fought against what was happening to him, and ached.

He'd never experienced pain like this. He wanted to cry. But it seemed nothing worked the way it was supposed to anymore. He couldn't breathe, couldn't scream, couldn't cry. He cramped and hurt and wanted to die. Wanted it to be over.

Nathanael stroked his hair and whispered soothing nothings. Ron wanted to rip his throat out. Nathanael's sweet words did absolutely nothing to dull the pain. Nothing.

And then finally, force returned to his vocal chords. Ron screamed, pushed away from Nathanael and landed on the floor, where he remained. Cramping, convulsing and whimpering.

"Natha-... Make it sto-" another scream of agony tore through him as his heart stopped pumping and Ron went still. Then, as if jolted by electricty, Ron arched. He clawed against the floor, growled, cried and whimpered his pain.

The utter torture of it all made him want to die.

Nathanael's hands grabbed him again, hoisted him up, and hugged him tight.

"It'll be over soon," he whispered. Ron seethed with pain and rage.

"FUCK YOU!"

"You'll be okay..." Nathanael said, voice cracking. "I know it hurts."

Ron screamed into Nathanael's chest, clawed at the vampire prince wherever he could reach, and then finally, after what seemed like forever, Ron went limp.

Nathanael breathed through his nose and slowly put Ron down on the mattress. Sick with worry, he examined Ron's body. Cold sweat ran down Ron's temples. Nathanael shivered as he put his hand on Ron's forehead. Ron didn't stir. Checking for a pulse would be futile at this point.

Ron was dead. There was no telling if he'd stay that way or not.

All Nathanael could do now was wait. 

* * *

When Ron opened his eyes, he was struck by how bright everything was. It hurt his eyes, and he hissed as he turned hid head to the side and closed his eyes with an irritated frown.

He was sore all over, and immensely hungry.

Where the fuck was he?

After gathering himself for a few minutes, he managed to sit up and look around with squinting eyes. He was in some sort of dungeon? Stone floor, stone walls, stone ceiling. He was on a mattress. And behind him was...

Ron's eyes went impossibly wide.

Nathanael looked thoroughly and completely beaten up. Scratch marks, bruises and torn clothes covered the vampire prince, and memories flooded Ron's mind. His breath hitched.

"N-nathanael?" Ron whispered. Cleared his throat. Put a hand on Nathanael's slumping shoulder. "Nathanael?" Still no response. Ron was getting increasingly panicked. "_Nathanael_!"

Finally, the vampire stirred. Ron almost sobbed with relief. He put both his hands on Nathanael's shoulders and shook them.

"Wake up," he demanded and pressed his lips to Nathanael's in desperation. "Wake the fuck _up_!"

Nathanael's eyes opened. He seemed disoriented as he looked up, eyebrows furrowed with confusion, and then slowly... He remembered. Ron stared at him, eyes a bright orange shade. Skin pale and flawless. Hair a darker red.

He sat up suddenly, causing Ron to flinch. He brought a hand to Ron's mouth, forced a finger under his upper lip, and confirmed everything.

A relieved grin broke out over his face and his hand moved to Ron's cheek, stroked the hair, brought his other hand to the other side of Ron's head, and pulled the young vampire close.

"You scared the shit out of me!" He growled and crashed his lips against Ron's. Ron responded passionately, almost breaking down with relief.

"You're one to talk!" He hissed and pressed himself close to Nathanael. "Look at you... Fuck, I thought..."

"I'm fine," Nathanael mumbled against Ron's nape. "It's only scratches... We've been in here for hours. I'm exhausted."

"Sorry..." Ron lapped at one of the scratchmarks on Nathanael's hand.

"Don't be," Nathanael said, beaming with happiness. "It's over. Ron..."

It finally struck Ron. He paused in his movements and slowly turned to face Nathanael. Eyes wide, pupils widening, and he released a slow, trembling breath.

"It worked, right?"

"It worked."

"I'm..."

"You're..."

"A vampire, yes!" Trenton's voice made them jump. "Splendid!" The door unlocked and opened. Trenton came into the room with crossed arms and a curious expression. "Must admit I was worried... You took longer than the others."

"How are they?" Ron asked, remembering that he wasn't the only one who'd - technically - died that night.

"They're doing fine. Blaise's transformation was over within two hours. No wonder. Draco took longer, but he doing okay. Sore and tired."

"How long have we been in here?" Ron asked.

"It's been around six hours. You're lucky you were passed out for the most part. Not everyone's that lucky." Trenton chuckled as if he'd made a joke.

"Lucky..." Ron got up from the mattress and marvelled at how strong he felt. Hungry, yes. Sore, definitely. But strong. Nathanael joined him, and put a hand on his back as they finally walked out of the room.

"I suggest you bring Ronald back to your room, Nathanael," Trenton said. "Clean yourselves up. The doctors are waiting for you in the hospital wing when you're ready."

Nathanael nodded wordlessly and gestured for Ron to follow him. Trenton watched them as they left, and turned around to lock the doors again.

They walked back to the room in silent wonder. Every now and then, they glanced at each other. It felt surreal. Ron's senses were spinning, and although it made him feel dizzy, the happiness and the relief was making up for it. It was over. Over and done with.

They got back to their room, and without a word, they embraced tightly. Ron rubbed his face against Nathanael's nape, felt his eyes contract as a wave of hunger came over him, and groaned.

"Hungry?"

Ron nodded.

"You'll get to feed soon."

Nathanael kissed his forehead, his cheek, his jaw, and finally found the place he'd bitten Ron and dragged a hot tounge over the area. The wound had healed up nicely, but Ron would always have a scar there.

"I can't believe this..." Ron whispered. "I'm... I'm _this_. Do I look different?"

Nathanael grinned and let his hands wander to Ron's hips and lower back.

"Delicious."

"Stop looking at me like I'm a meal," Ron grinned and displayed a pair of perfect canines. "Not human anymore, remember?"

"You'll always look delicious to me," Nathanael purred and bent down for a kiss. Ron nibbled at his lips.

After a few minutes of amazed, curious aftermath, they finally managed to clean up and change clothes.

Ron glanced at himself in the mirror, and although he didn't see much of a difference, he did notice subtle changes. He looked more alluring now. His hair was darker and softer. His freckles had pretty much disappeared completely, and his eyes were awake, focused, and bright.

He turned to Nathanael, who was waiting for him by the door. The vampire prince had a calm, satisfied look on his face. After one final glance in the mirror, he joined Nathanael.

And as they walked together through the darkness of Trenton's house, a thought suddenly hit Ron.

A thought he'd hoped wouldn't disturb him until later. It crushed the happiness and replaced it with worry.

"Nathanael?" He asked carefully, and tried his best to make his voice come out even and calm.

"Yes?"

Ron swallowed and turned to the prince. Nathanael looked collected, but Ron noticed a certain tension had invaded his handsome features. Damnit. It seemed Nathanael was thinking the same thing.

Cruel realization chased away the relief. This wasn't over yet. Ron stared at the floor as they walked towards the hospital wing.

"... When's the first test?"

Nathanael slowly turned to look at him, expression tight.

This wasn't over by a long shot.

TBC 

* * *

Yes. So. Um. Yay?  
(So sorry about any overlooked spelling error. My bitch computer refuses to cooperate.)

Please review.

(A/N: Some of you may recall me saying something about re-writing the story - and I still intend to. It's just that... I've been so fucking busy. *sighs* Time is never on my side. But I'll soldier on. Hopefully I'll have more time after Xmas.)


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